


Scars That Can't be Seen

by Dynamicoverride



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood Sharing, Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Miscarriage, Possible Character Death, Romance, Suicide Attempt, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-09-23 04:33:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17073542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dynamicoverride/pseuds/Dynamicoverride
Summary: Keith and Layla have been together for a year before Keith takes on a month long mission from the BoM. With no communication allowed for that month Layla and the rest of the team tell themselves that everything is fine and Keith will be back in a month. But what happens when he doesn’t?I can’t give much more of a summary without giving too much away so I’m going to have a short summary at the start of each chapter.If you notice I’ve missed any tags, please let me know and I’ll add them. All the tags have to do with the work as a whole, not just the chapters currently posted.





	1. Chapter 1

**************************************************

Chapter Summary:

Keith accepts a month long mission from Kolivan and has to find a way to tell Layla. They decide to make the most of the week they have before the mission starts.

**************************************************

Keith has finished another successful mission with the BoM. Once he’s done debriefing with Kolivan he takes a quick shower before heading back to his room. He quickly starts packing, in a hurry to get to the Castle of Lions. It’s been a week since he’s seen Layla and misses her terribly. There’s a knock at the door as he’s zipping his bag. The door slides open and Kolivan takes a step in, letting the door slide shut behind him.

 

“I need you for a very important mission.” Kolivan begins. “I cannot give any details other than it starts in a week and you will be gone for one month. You will not be told anything until just before you leave. We cannot risk any communication on this mission. There will be no contact with anyone outside your fellow Blade members that are on the mission with you. Not with BoM headquarters, not with the Castle of Lions. We need total radio silence for this mission.

 

“Of course. Whatever you need.” Keith agrees to the mission without thinking twice.

 

“Good. See you back here in a week.” Kolivan leaves the room, leaving Keith alone to realize what he just agreed to.

 

It slowly sinks in what this mission means. He’s never been on a mission where he couldn’t contact Layla. Especially for a whole month. _“Shit. Layla already isn’t happy about how much I’m away from the castle and now I take a month long mission. I need to find a way to tell her without her getting angry.”_ He grabs his bag and makes his way to the hangar that holds the shuttle that will take him to the Castle of Lions. As a reward for recent missions, Kolivan is letting him take a shuttle instead of having to rely on someone bringing him there.

 

He gets into the shuttle and tosses his bag to the side. Once he’s clear of the hangar, he plugs in the coordinates for the castle that Layla gave him the last time they spoke. It takes him about 30 minutes to get close enough to the castle to hail it. He hopes that Layla isn’t the one to answer. He holds his breath and is relieved when Allura answers.

 

“Keith!” Allura smiles warmly as she greets him. “We weren’t expecting you for another day. Let me get Layla.”

 

“No, don’t get her.” Allura is a bit startled at Keith’s outburst. “I wanted to surprise her. We finished up the last mission a bit early so Kolivan let me leave today.”

 

Allura’s expression softens again. “Of course. I won’t say a word to her.” She pauses to press a few buttons on the console in front of her. “Your usual hangar is unlocked for you.”

 

“Thanks Allura. I appreciate it.” Keith disconnects the comms and leans back in his chair. He still doesn’t know how to tell Layla about his next mission. _“Maybe being back a bit early will help soften the blow.”_ He sits up and sees the castle in front of him. Once he docks the shuttle, he’s relieved to see that his arrival didn’t attract any unwanted attention. Not knowing where anyone is, he rushes to the bedroom he shares with Layla to drop off his bag. On his way out of the room, he runs into Allura who tells him that Layla is in the lounge with Lance playing video games. Keith asks if there’s a way that she can get Lance out of the lounge without making either of them suspicious. Allura winks and tells Keith to leave it to her. They walk to the lounge together and Allura motions for Keith to wait in the hall when they get there. Keith can hear Allura asking Lance to help her with something on the bridge. As expected, Lance jumps at the opportunity. Keith manages to hide around the corner as Allura leads Lance out of the lounge and towards the bridge.

 

As Keith approaches the door, he can hear Layla putting things away. She’s muttering about Lance not staying long enough to help put anything away. Peeking in, he can see that her back is to the door. He stays light on his feet as he sneaks into the room without a sound. Keith makes it about half way to Layla when he trips on a foot rest, sending it across the floor a few feet. Layla lets out a small yell and turns to where the noise came from. The panic on her face turns to surprise as she’s greeted with Keith in his BoM uniform.

 

Layla throws the controllers she’s holding onto a nearby couch. “Keith? You weren’t supposed to be back until tomorrow!” She launches herself at him and wraps her arms around his neck. Before Keith can answer her, she’s kissing him. The kiss is filled with urgency and want, which Keith is more than happy to return. He parts her lips with his tongue almost immediately.

 

“We finished the mission a day early.” Keith explains between kisses. “So Kolivan let me leave headquarters early.” He pulls away and touches Layla’s face. “I didn’t tell you because I wanted to surprise you.”

 

“Mission accomplished.” Layla nuzzles Keith’s neck as she speaks. “There’s still time before dinner. I can think of something to occupy our time until then.” She nips Keith’s neck to punctuate the last sentence.

 

Keith sweeps Layla up in his arms and carries her out of the room bridal style. He walks quickly towards their room hoping they don’t run into anyone. Layla nips at his neck and plays with his hair while being carried. She knows full well what this does to Keith and regrets nothing. There’s a low growl that comes from Keith as he starts walking faster towards their room.

 

Keith fumbles with the door, trying to get inside as quickly as possible. Layla knows she’s not helping, but refuses to stop. The door opens as she starts to nibble on Keith’s ear lobe. Keith rushes into the room and slams his hand on the door controls to shut the door. Layla is set down on her feet then suddenly lifted again so that her legs are wrapped around Keith’s waist. She feels herself being pressed up against the wall and Keith’s lips finding hers. The kiss is frantic and filled with passion. They had only been apart for a week. But Keith wasn’t able to get away from the other BoM members when he called her, so they couldn’t participate in their normal phone sex while he was gone. Layla is holding onto Keith’s neck as he moves away from the wall. He leads them to the bed and lays her down. They start to undress each other and make good use of the couple hours they have before dinner.

 

**************************************************

 

“Allura! Hey! What’s the rush? What’s going on?” Lance tries to question Allura as she drags him to the bridge.

 

“There’s um, something that I need you to look at right away.” Her voice is unsteady. She didn’t think farther ahead than getting Lance out of the lounge.

 

They get to the bridge and Allura looks around for an excuse to tell Lance. She spies one of the consoles and settles on that. “I need you to look at this console. It’s been acting funny and I don’t know why.”

 

Lance gives her a strange look but walks over to the console anyways. He presses a few buttons and reads the screen. “You’re a bad liar Allura.” Lance turns towards her. “First, there’s nothing wrong with this console. Second, if it was broken, I’m the last person that would be able to fix it.” Lance crosses his arms and stares down Allura. “What’s going on? That desperate to spend some alone time with me?”

 

Allura sighs, knowing that she’s been found out. “Fine. Keith came back a day early from BoM headquarters. He wanted to surprise Layla so I had to find a way to get you out of the lounge.”

 

“Then why didn’t you just tell me after we left the lounge?” Lance asks.

 

“I don’t know! I just got caught up in the lie.” Allura admits. “It was kind of exhilarating. Promise me you will not tell anyone else that Keith is here. I do not want him and Layla to be interrupted. They’ll both be at dinner tonight.” She turns and walks out of the bridge. Leaving Lance still wondering if that really just happened.

 

**************************************************

 

A couple hours later, Layla walks out of the bathroom in a towel and sees Keith getting dressed. “Do you have to wear normal pants? I can’t oogle your ass like I can in your Blade armour.” She walks over to him and tries to get inside his jacket with him.

 

Keith pulls her out from under his jacket and kisses her. “You know what will happen if I do. I don’t think the rest of the team wants to see us having sex on the dinner table.”

 

“Fine.” Layla pouts. “I guess I’ll get dressed so we can go. If I don’t get there soon Hunk will send out a search party.”

 

It doesn’t take them long to get to the dining room but they can hear Hunk from the hallway as they get close. He’s questioning people where Layla is and talking about going to find her. “See what I mean?” Layla shoots Keith a look next to her. They walk into the room like nothing is out of the ordinary.

 

“There you are!” Hunk shouts when he sees Layla. “Where have you…..Keith!”

 

Everyone in the room turns towards the door at Hunk’s outburst. The room fills with excitement at the sight of Keith. Everyone starts asking when he got back all at the same time.

 

“I’ve been back for a few hours now.” Keith replies as he takes his seat next to Layla.

 

“A few hours? What in the world have you been doing for…” Shiro starts, but suddenly realizes he doesn't want to know the answer. “Nevermind. None of my business.”

 

Keith and Layla smirk at each other as everyone else in the room starts laughing as Shiro turns red. Right on time, Hunk starts bringing out plates for everyone. The dinner conversation consists mostly of Lance bragging.

 

“So Keith,” Lance waves his fork around in the air as he speaks. “I almost beat your super hard custom training program while you were gone.”

 

“You were using your rifle in a close combat program Lance.” Hunk accuses.

 

“Details Hunk. The important part is that I almost beat it.” Lance sits back in his chair and folds his arms.

 

“Maybe next time you can beat it without cheating.” Keith teases.

 

Lance responds by huffing loudly and muttering to himself that he wasn’t cheating. The team starts asking Keith about his latest mission and if he knows anything about any upcoming missions. He answers the questions about his last mission but Layla notices that he dances around the questions about any upcoming missions. No one else seems to notice this, but it bothers Layla. Keith has been taking more and missions and there’s no way that he wouldn’t know anything about an upcoming mission. She shakes the thought out of her head for now so she can enjoy her time with him now.

 

After dinner, Keith spends some time chatting with Shiro in the lounge while Layla and Lance play a video game. After a couple hours, Keith and Layla head back to their room for the night. They walk in relative silence, with Keith thinking of a way to tell Layla about his next mission. He knows the longer he waits, the harder it’s going to be. Layla notices that Keith looks worried. She wonders if it has to do with the questions about his upcoming mission. She chooses to mention something when they’re in the privacy of their own room.

 

Layla enters the room first and Keith makes sure to shut the door behind him. Layla stops in the center of the room and turns to Keith. Before she’s able to question him, he speaks up.

 

“Layla, I have something to tell you and I don’t think you’re going to like it.” Keith suddenly realizing how it sounds. “Oh shit, I don’t mean it like that. I’m sorry it came out that way.” He hugs Layla and apologizes.

 

“Is it about your next mission?” Layla whispers.

 

“Yea.” Keith leads her to the bed and they sit down. “My next mission is in a week and it’s going to be a month long.”

 

“A month long? At least we’ll still be able to talk while you’re gone.” Layla tries to make the best of this situation. She notices that Keith looks down instead of responding to her. “We will be able to talk while you’re gone right?”

 

Keith slowly shakes his head. “Kolivan can’t risk any communications being picked up by the Galra Empire. The mission is going to be complete radio silence. I’m not sure if they’re even going to tell me where they’re bringing me. I only know when I’m leaving and for how long.”

 

“That can’t be right. What if something goes wrong? What if you’re hurt? How will they know if you need to be evacuated?” Layla is starting to panic. Her breathing becomes erratic as she thinks of all the things that can go wrong.

 

Keith pulls her into him, rubbing her back to try to calm her. “It’s just an information gathering mission. According to Kolivan’s intel, we won’t be running into any Galra. I’m not going alone either, there’s going to be a small team of us.”

 

Layla knows that he’s trying to comfort her, but she knows just as well as he does that the BoM values mission above all else. She’s heard stories about members being left behind or sacrificing themselves to ensure a successful mission. She knows that while Keith values his team mates, they would just as soon leave him to die. There’s no way that Keith would refuse this mission. He’s too proud for that and values what the BoM has taught him. For now, all she can do is accept what’s happening and support Keith.

 

They decide to make the most of the next week they have together. Keith still spends time with the rest of the team, but every other moment is spent with Layla. And they have chosen to spend that time acting like horny teenagers. The first few days involve people steering clear of the hallway that their bedroom is located in. Poor Hunk got an earful walking past Keith and Layla’s room one afternoon and warned everyone else to stay away. Keith and Layla then decide that their room is too boring, and it takes too long to get there when the mood strikes. For the rest of the week, they start finding other places in the castle to have sex. They started out in places that wouldn’t allow them to be caught easily but ramped up to more public places as the week wound down. Most of the time they were able to remain undetected, but it’s hard for people not to know what’s happening when you’re in the lounge or training room. Whenever they were seen, most people just backed away and left the room and would casually mention it later. Shiro on the other hand, would lecture them each time about public indecency and scarring Pidge. At one point they wanted to see if Red would still let Keith in. She did, and Lance got quite an eye full when he had to restock some of the supplies he kept in Red. Keith insisted that Red should have warned Lance about barging in. If she did, Lance wouldn’t have seen Layla riding Keith in the pilot's chair.

 

The week comes to an end quicker than anyone would’ve liked. The next thing they all know, they’ve gathered in Keith’s usual hangar saying goodbye to Keith. Layla tries to keep herself together as she watches Keith say goodbye to the rest of the team. After he hugs Shiro, Keith turns to Layla and holds onto her as tightly as he can. They melt into each other as their lips touch. The kiss is passionate and slow with neither party wanting to let go. “I love you so much. I’ll think of you everyday.” Keith whispers to Layla before he moves his hands from her hips. Layla feels her eyes start to burn with tears as Keith gets in the shuttle and leaves. Everyone slowly leaves the hangar except Layla and Shiro. Layla stares straight ahead as she starts to feel warm tears roll down her cheeks.

 

“He’ll be ok.” Shiro puts his arm around Layla’s shoulders and squeezes. “Keith is strong. He knows what he’s doing.”

  
Layla just nods in response and wipes her tears with her sleeve. Without a word, she turns and leaves the hangar. On the way back to her room, she tries to convince herself that everything will be ok.   _“It’s only a month. Keith will be back in a month.”_

 **************************************************


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The month is over and it’s time for Keith to come home. The team and Layla miss him and can’t wait. 2 weeks go by and still no sign of Keith. Kolivan shows up at the castle unexpectedly with news.   
> *Trigger warning: death*

The castle is buzzing with anticipation, waiting to hear from Keith. It’s been a month and he’s scheduled to return any day now. Everyone holds their breath whenever the castle is hailed or if their personal communicator goes off. After a few days of this, Allura contacts Kolivan about Keith. Allura shoos everyone out of the bridge while she calls and tells them to wait in the lounge. Layla starts to feel a bit off while she’s waiting, but she just chalks it up to nerves. She’s about to ask what’s taking so long when Allura enters the room.

Allura tries to keep her voice upbeat as she explains the conversation. “Kolivan said that when they got to the rendezvous point, there was no one waiting. They weren’t able to wait for long, but there was a second rendezvous time planned. I wasn’t able to find out when that is. Kolivan didn’t seem very concerned since something like this has happened before.”

Everyone’s faces fall as Allura explains the situation. None of them expected to hear that Keith wasn’t back.

“He’s ok. He’ll be back.” Lance puts his hand on Layla’s arm and tries to comfort her. She’s been the most anxious about this mission.

Without a word, Layla stands up and leaves the room. She tells herself that it’s ok, Keith will be at the next rendezvous point. Refusing to cry, she heads straight to the training room. She grabs the sword she picked out in the armory and starts the simulation. She takes no breaks and has no idea how much time has passed until Lance interrupts.

Lance watches her take down a training bot with ease. “It’s been two hours and dinner will be ready soon.” He yells out before the next bot comes out.

“Not hungry.” Layla responds as she readies herself for the next bot.

“Layla please.” Lance pleads. “You need to eat something. You can’t keep training all night.”

She can hear the concern in his voice. In reality she’s starving, but she can’t bare for her mind to be idle. She ends the training session just as the next training bot is closing in on her. She watches as it falls lifelessly at her feet.

“Fine. I just need to go shower first.” She walks past Lance before he can say anything.

The meal is a quiet one. No one really knows what to say after the news they received that afternoon. Whenever someone tries to start a conversation, they’re met with silence. Once the plates are cleared, everyone goes their separate ways. Pidge heads to Green’s hanger, Shiro goes to the training room, Hunk and Coran take care of the dishes, and Allura to the bridge. Lance manages to convince Layla to spend some time in the lounge with him instead of going straight to her room. Lance suggests video games or a movie to keep her mind off of things, or talk if she wants to talk about anything. She knows she doesn’t want to talk right now so she suggests a movie.

By the time they choose a movie and watch it, it’s about time to go to bed. Lance offers to walk Layla to her room, but she declines saying she’ll be fine. She walks into the empty room and sighs. As she’s falling asleep, she wonders how much longer the bed will be empty for.

**************************************************

There’s no news for the next week. Since Kolivan wouldn’t tell Allura when the next rendezvous time was, no one knows if it’s passed or not. Same as last week, everyone jumps at every hail or personal communication.

Layla is in the lounge relaxing with Lance. Hunk and Pidge are playing video games while Shiro sits in the corner reading. Coran walks into the lounge and asks if Layla can follow him. Everyone is confused, but Layla stands and follows Coran out of the room. She tries questioning him about where they’re going but Coran stays silent. Coran leads her to one of the smaller briefing rooms. When he opens the door for her, she can see Allura and Kolivan already in the room. Allura’s normal cheerful expression is replaced with one of sorrow. Layla can feel herself begin to panic as she reaches for Coran’s arm to help ground her.

“The second rendezvous time was yesterday, only one of the Blade members was waiting. After a briefing, it was revealed that the other members of the team disappeared without a trace. We have no other choice but to consider the other members dead.” Kolivan explains. “I wish I could have come with better news, but I thought it best if you heard the news face to face instead of through a screen.”

Layla doesn’t know how to react. She’s too shocked to feel either sadness or anger. “Thank you for coming all this way to tell me Kolivan. I appreciate the effort, but I would like to be alone now.”

“Coran, please take Kolivan to one of the other meeting rooms and call the rest of the Paladins there. I’ll be staying here with Layla.” Allura instructs. She hugs Layla but Layla remains stiff as a board while glaring at Kolivan.

Coran leads Kolivan out of the room and shuts the door behind them. Layla glares at Kolivan the whole time. The moment the door shuts all the emotions she was suppressing are let loose. Before Allura can react, Layla falls to the floor sobbing. Allura sits with her and comforts her the best she can.

“How can he be sure Keith is dead? He could be captured or lost. If they can tell us where they brought Keith we could look for him.” Layla is grasping at anything that means Keith is alive.

Allura hugs her tighter. “I’ve already asked where Keith was sent. Kolivan will not tell me because it can put other missions in danger.”

Neither of them can bring themselves to speak anymore. They stay on the floor trying to comfort each other. Both crying over their lost friend and Layla’s lover.

**************************************************

Coran calls the rest of the Paladins to the meeting room over the comms. They all look confused as they walk into the room. When they see Kolivan in the room a sense of panic rushes over each of them.

“Where are Allura and Layla?” Shiro asks before anyone can speak.

“They’re in another room. They’ve both already been told.” Coran informs them.

Pidge’s eyes grow wide. “Been told what? What’s going on?”

Kolivan tells the Paladins exactly what he told Layla before. Unlike her, the Paladins start to question Kolivan immediately. A chorus of questions from all the Paladins are thrown at Kolivan. “How can you be sure?” “What planet are they on. We’ll look for them.” “How could you abandon them like that?”

“The way of the Blade is to put mission before all else. Each of them know this when joining the BoM. They knew each mission could be their last.” Kolivan explains staying stone faced. “If they were alive, they would have been at the rendezvous point.”

“Where did you send them?” Shiro yells over the commotion. “We’ll go look for them since you won’t.”

Kolivan shakes his head. “That’s not information that I can provide. To do so will put other missions in jeopardy.” Kolivan turns to Coran. “I must get back to headquarters, please walk with me to my shuttle.”

Before they can leave the room, Shiro asks Coran where Layla is. He tells Shiro what room her and Allura are in and leaves with Kolivan. They all try to digest the information they were just given. As the shock wears off, they start to quietly cry and comfort each other.

“Does anyone know where Layla is?” Lance asks after about 5 minutes of silence. “We need to make sure she’s ok.”

“I asked Coran before he left. She’s in the smaller briefing room with Allura.” Shiro tells Lance. “If it’s ok with everyone, I’d like to go check on her now.” Lance is the first to agree since Shiro somehow is the most put together out of all of them.

When Shiro gets to the briefing room, he can hear Layla crying through the door. He knocks on the door lightly so he doesn’t startle anyone. He can hear shuffling in the room before Allura answers the door. Shiro tells her that they’ve all been told what happened and he’s here to check on Layla. Allura looks into the room and back and Shiro before telling him that she’s not well. She steps aside so Shiro can enter the room. The first thing he sees is Layla laying in a heap on the floor, leaning on the wall for support. She’s breathing heavy and coughing from all the crying she’s done. Shiro tries to call her name and gets no response. He sits next to her to try to get her attention. It takes her a moment to realize that he’s even there. Once she does realize that it’s Shiro, she throws herself against him and cries into his chest.

Layla can only mutter to herself at this point. She keeps repeating the same things. “He said he’d come back. He promised me. He can’t be gone. Why won’t they tell us where they brought him? Why did he have to agree to that mission?” She knows she won’t get the answers to any of her questions, but she keeps repeating them anyways.

All Shiro can do is hold her and rub her back while she cries. He wants nothing more than to be able to answer her questions, but he knows he may never have the answers. “We may not know where they brought him, but it’s not going to stop us from looking. We’re going to do everything we can to get him back.”

“How are we going to search the whole universe? He could be anywhere.” Layla sobs. “I’ll never see him again.”

“That doesn’t mean we’re not going to try.” Shiro hugs her tighter. “We’ll find out what happened.”

Allura sits down next to Shiro and the three of them stay huddled on the floor crying. After a few more minutes, the door slowly opens and the rest of the team walks in. Lance is the first to sit down next to Layla. The rest of the team follows suit and they all end up sitting on the floor comforting each other. Not a word is said for the next 20 minutes before everyone’s tears dry up. One by one people start leaving the room to try to take their mind off the current situation or grieve the loss in their own way.

Soon it’s just Shiro and Layla left. Shiro is the first to stand then helps Layla off the floor. “I think I’m just going to go to my room. I need some time alone.” She says, directed to no one in particular.

Layla is in such a haze that she isn’t sure where she’s going. She just trusts her legs to get her somewhere. Her legs take her to her room where she has to take a deep breath just to open the door. As the door shuts behind her, she looks around the room. She takes in the sight of all of Keith’s items in the room. She walks to the closet and pulls his red jacket off it’s hanger. Lifting it to her face, she can still smell Keith on it. Making her way towards the bed, she stops at the desk and sees Keith’s tablet and a few books on Galra culture. He’d been wanting to know more about his Galra side and was reading non-stop about it. When she sits on the bed, he eyes fall to the small dagger he bought her for their first anniversary. Reality hits her as she realizes that there will never be a second. Not able to hold her emotions in anymore, she curls up on the bed and cries into Keith’s jacket.

Layla wakes up to someone knocking on her door. She didn’t realize that she fell asleep. Lance’s voice comes through from the other side of the door. “Hey Layla. Is everything ok? It’s time for dinner and you should eat.”

“Sorry, I fell asleep. I’ll meet you in the dining room in a few minutes.” She answers while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Carefully laying Keith’s jacket on the bed, she gets up and heads to the bathroom. Washing her face helps to wake her up and remove some of the redness from crying. She’ll have to ask Lance about something to help with the redness. Staring at her reflection she thinks about how she’s going to get through this. Not having an answer, she smooths her clothes and heads to the dining room.

When Layla walks into the dining room and can feel the tension in the room. No one is speaking, just staring at their plates. No one wants to say anything with the fear of breaking down or causing someone else to break down. Layla quietly takes her seat between Lance and Keith’s empty chair. They eat in complete silence with the exception of asking to pass something. Once the plates have been cleared, Allura speaks up.

“I know the news of losing Keith this afternoon has affected everyone. Unfortunately, the war has not and will not stop while we grieve. Voltron will still be needed.”

Everyone looks at each other uncomfortably. They all know Allura is right, even though none of them want to admit it. Based on Lance’s face, Allura could have had a little more tact.

“We will take the next few days off to process what happened and grieve. There will be no scheduled missions or training. Although if Voltron is needed, we will have to oblige.”

Everyone just nods solemnly at Allura before getting up and leaving the room. All off to grieve in their own ways. Layla isn’t sure where she’s going, but knows she doesn’t want to go back to her room. She wanders the halls for what feels like half an hour before finding herself at the doors to the training room. Considering how much time she spent there with Keith, she’s not sure if this will help or not but goes in anyways. She grabs her sword and starts up a training program at the lowest level.

It’s rough at first, but she finds herself comfortable at level 5. It’s difficult enough to keep her mind focused, but not too difficult that it kicks her ass. After about an hour, Shiro walks into the training room. Layla is so focused that she doesn’t notice Shiro. Shiro watches Layla fight for a few minutes. He can’t help but notice how much she fights like Keith. She doesn’t have as much power or experience, but she does have more finesse. He notices how fluid her movements are.

Shiro waits for Laya to finish the current training bot to end the program. Layla jumps at Shiro’s command, not realizing anyone else was in the room. “Sorry, I’ll leave so you can get some training in.” Layla walks to the weapon storage area to put her sword away.

“I’m not here to train. I’m going through the castle checking up on everyone.” Shiro notices Layla flinch a little as he speaks. “I need to make sure everyone knows that if they need to talk that someone will always be there to listen.”

Layla puts the sword away before turning back to Shiro. “I’m as ok as can be expected. I mean, I was just told that the love of my life is dead and I wasn’t able to say goodbye.” Feeling like she’s going to break down again, she sits on the floor and pulls her knees to her chest. “I can’t even go anywhere without something reminding me of Keith. I just want to wake up and this all be a dream.”

Sitting down next to her Shiro continues. “I understand. It’s never easy losing someone, especially when it’s so sudden. If you ever need to talk you know I’m here for you.”

“I know and I appreciate it. But what about you?” Layla looks up at Shiro. “Are you ok? You and Keith were practically brothers. This can’t be easy on you either.”

“I’m holding on. As the leader of the team, I need to make sure the rest of you are ok and take care of you when I can.” Layla can tell he’s said this before because it sounds so rehearsed.

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” Layla tells him. “You matter just as much as the rest of us. You can’t just worry about us and not yourself. You need to take care of the team? Guess what, you’re a part of this team too.” Layla can’t help her voice rising the more she goes on. “You’ve been through so much more than all of us put together, but you stay so strong. It’s ok to crumble. It’s ok to need to lean on someone.”

By the time Layla is done, Shiro is looking down at his hands. When he does look up, Layla can see that he’s crying. She wonders if she went too far. “You’re right. I’m not ok. None of us are. And it will take time before we are again. All we can do is be there for each other.”

Layla and Shiro sit on the floor of the training room for half an hour talking about how they’re holding up and crying together. Realizing that it’s getting late, Layla tells Shiro that they should both get some rest. He stands and helps her up and they leave the training room. Shiro walks her to her room and thanks her for the talk, he’s not used to someone being concerned for him. Layla reminds him that if he needs anything to let her know and he reminds her of the same. She presses the door button and enters the room. Her eyes fall on Keith’s jacket that she left on the bed. She gets ready for bed and debates on hanging it in the closet. Instead, she falls asleep clutching the jacket and breathing in Keith’s scent.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Kolivan tells the team that Keith is dead, Layla is heart broken. She has a hard time functioning from the grief. She gets the surprise of her life when she finds out she’s pregnant. But will she decide to keep the baby?

The next couple of weeks are fairly uneventful as the team starts to fall back into their usual routine. There’s a few small missions that don’t require the whole team and Voltron is only needed once. Every time they wormhole to a new area, the Lions are taken out and they search for any signs of Keith. 

 

For the 9th time in the last 2 weeks, Layla wakes up feeling nauseated and sick.  _ “It’s just grief and stress. It will get better soon.” _ she tells herself. She skips breakfast again because she’s not sure if she’ll be able to keep anything down. When she does get out of bed and leave the room it’s almost lunch time. She runs into Coran on the way to the kitchen. 

 

“You skipped breakfast again. This is the 4th time in the last 2 weeks. Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” Coran looks closely at her face, looking for something. “You should really let me give you a check up.”

 

“I’m ok Coran. It’s just the stress and grief. I’m sure it’s nothing.” Layla waves him off and tries to walk around him. 

 

“Well if it’s nothing, then there’s nothing wrong with a quick checkup.” Coran insists.

 

“Ugh…..fine, I’ll go for a check up.” Layla sighs. 

 

Coran smiles, knowing that he’s won. He holds her arm lightly and guides her to the med bay. Coran guides her to an exam table and tells her to have a seat while he gets some things together. As he starts the exam, he asks Layla about how she’s been feeling. Layla tells him that she’s been feeling horrible on random mornings. She assumes that it’s the grief and lack of sleep bothering her. Coran starts humming to himself as he continues his work. Layla sees him doing a double take on his handheld scanner and rushing to the console to review the information.

 

Layla sees the look on Coran’s face as he studies the console and she starts to panic. “Coran, what’s wrong? What did you find?” The panic she’s feeling shows in her voice as she speaks. 

 

“Umm….I’m not sure how to say this but,” Coran replies without taking his eyes off the console. “But you’re pregnant. About 2 months along from what I can tell.”

 

“What?” Layla tries to think about what happened. She remembers that Keith left 2 months ago, she must’ve gotten pregnant that week before he left. “A-are you sure?”

 

“Positive.” Coran shows her the results on the console. It’s there plain as day, she’s pregnant. 

 

Not being able to deal with the amount of emotion she’s feeling, Layla starts to cry. “I’m sorry Coran. I don’t mean to cry. It’s just so much to take in all at once.”

 

“Now now my dear, don’t worry about it. I don’t know how to ask this but, the father is Keith correct?” 

 

Layla can’t bring herself to speak so she just nods between tears. 

 

“You know if you need to speak to anyone, we’re all here. If you need help, we’ll all be here to help.”

 

“I-I know.” Layla says, finding her voice again. “I just need to think about this. I’m going back to my room.”

 

When Layla hops off the table she can barely feel her feet hit the floor. She heads for the door as Coran shouts after her that she should eat something. She keeps walking, not hearing anything. Lance sees her leaving the med bay and tries to ask how she is. In her daze, Layla doesn’t even register that Lance is there. She just pushes past him and continues to her room. Lance walks into the med bay and sees Coran still there. 

 

“What’s going on with Layla? I just saw her and she pushed past me like I wasn’t even there.” Lance doesn’t even wait for Coran to notice him before he starts questioning him. 

 

Coran takes a second to clear the screen on the console before responding to Lance. “I’m not at liberty to say my boy. Only Layla is I’m afraid.”

 

“Come on Coran.” Lance begs. “She’s not hurt is she? You don’t need to tell me what’s wrong, just tell me if she’s hurt.”

 

“You’re right, I don’t need to tell you what’s wrong. But I can assure you she’s not hurt. Now I have things to get to.” Coran answers as he turns back to the console.

 

Lance leaves the med bay feeling defeated. He decides that he’s going to find Layla and ask her what’s wrong. 

 

Layla gets to her room without running into anyone else. Although it’s not like she would’ve noticed. She walks into the room and shuts the door behind her. Her legs take her to the bed before giving out on her. Still numb from the news, all she can do is curl up in a ball and stare blankly at the wall. As she tries to process the news, she hears a light knock on her door. 

 

“It’s open.” she calls out, without thinking of asking who it is.

 

The door slides open and Lance steps into the room. Layla doesn’t move from the bed and stays staring at the wall. Lance rushes to the bed and kneels on the floor next to it so he’s at face level with Layla. He touches her arm and barely gets any reaction from her. 

 

“Layla. Hey. Are you ok? I saw you leaving the med bay and you looked in rough shape. Are you hurt? Coran refused to tell me what was wrong.” Lance’s voice is overflowing with concern. 

 

Layla pulls away from Lance and sits up, pulling her knees to her chest. “I’m not hurt. I’m pregnant.” She starts to cry having to say it out loud. “It happened before Keith went on his last mission.”

 

Lance scrambles off the floor and onto the bed next to Layla. He pulls her into a hug, not quite knowing what to say.

 

“I-I don’t know what to do. I have to make a decision soon, but I don’t know if I can. Lance, I’m scared.” Layla’s voice quivers with uncertainty. 

 

Lance holds her tighter and rocks back and forth to try to soothe her. “I know you’re scared. Whatever you need, I’m here for you. I can’t make the decision for you, but I can talk it through with you if you want to.” Lance offers. 

 

“Thanks, I’d like that. But right now I just need some time alone to process all this. Can you not tell anyone about this yet? I want to make a decision before telling anyone.”

 

“Anything. You know how to find me if you need me.” Lance gives her one last hug and leaves the room. 

 

Layla spends the next few hours weighing her options. The first is continuing the pregnancy and bringing a child into the middle of a war. The second is to end the pregnancy. She reasons out the pros and cons of each in her head. If she has the child, she knows she won’t be alone. The rest of the team will be here to help her and treat her and the child like family. But the idea of having a child in the middle of a war leaves a sinking feeling in her stomach. The child has already lost a father they will never know, what if they lose their mother too, or the people they will view as aunts and uncles? But then what if she ends the pregnancy? She wouldn’t have to worry about having a child in the middle of a war, but this could be the last piece of Keith she ever has. Knowing she’d be giving up a piece of him is something she doesn’t want to think about.

 

She tries to take a bath to distract her from her thoughts but fails. After she gets dressed, she hears a knock at the door. She opens the door a crack to see who it is. She sees Lance standing in the hallway with a tray of food. 

 

“You didn’t come to dinner, so I brought dinner to you.” Lance says with a smile. “And I don’t remember seeing you at breakfast or lunch.”

 

“Thanks Lance. I didn’t realize what time it was.” Layla says returning his smile and taking the tray from him. “Did anyone ask why I wasn’t there?”

 

“They did, but Coran told them you were feeling under the weather and wanted to rest. I offered to bring you food before anyone else could. If you need anything just let me know. I should be in my room most of the night.” 

 

Layla thanks him and shuts the door. Setting the tray down on the desk, she sits down to eat and tries to distract herself by reading. Even though she hasn’t eaten all day, she barely touches her food. Once she’s done eating, she goes to bed and falls asleep thinking about the decision that awaits her. 

 

The next morning she’s feeling well enough to go for breakfast. Everyone welcomes her warmly at breakfast, asking her how she’s feeling. She lies and says she just has a bit of a cold, but she should be better soon. 

 

After breakfast, she asks Lance if he’s still willing to help her talk her through her decision. If it’s ok, she’d like to talk with him the next day after lunch. Lance also tells her that if she misses lunch or dinner, he or Coran will bring them to her to make sure she eats. He explains that the Paladins have a mission soon and he’s not sure how long it will take. Layla understands and thanks Lance again for everything. She heads back to her room thinking about what she did to deserve friends like this.

 

Layla doesn’t really leave her room for the rest of the day with the exception of dinner. Coran makes sure that she eats lunch while the rest of the team is out on a mission. She misses breakfast the next morning due to morning sickness. Before she can leave for lunch, Lance meets her at her room with a tray piled with food. 

 

“I figured we’d have lunch together then talk.” He explains. “I hope that’s ok.”

 

“What did I ever do to deserve a friend like you?” Layla wonders out loud. 

 

“You mean charming and thoughtful?” Lance says with a large grin on his face. 

 

For the first time in a month, Layla is able to laugh. It’s a foreign sound to her now. She lets Lance into her room and he spreads out the food he brought on the desk. As he hands Laya her plate, he tells her that he can’t stay the whole afternoon. Shiro scheduled mandatory training after lunch. But he let Lance skip part of it after he told Shiro he made plans with Layla. Once they’ve finished lunch, Layla starts to feel nervous. She’s not sure how easy it’s going to be to talk about her choices. They both get comfortable sitting on the bed, with Lance close by for any support that Layla needs. 

 

Layla stays silent, trying to will herself to speak. After a moment, she takes a deep breath and tells Lance everything. “I don’t like the idea of having a child in the middle of a war. I know I’ll have everyone’s support here, but they’ve already lost a father they will never know. What happens if they lose me? Or anyone else in the castle? If I end the pregnancy, I wouldn’t have to worry about raising a child in the middle of a war. But this could be the last piece of Keith I ever have. I just don’t know what to do.” 

 

Layla continues for a few more minutes. Going into more detail about the pros and cons of each decision. Lance stays silent throughout the whole thing and listens intently to her reasons. When she’s done, Lance can see a fear in her eyes that he’s never seen before. 

 

“Maybe you’re coming at this from the wrong angle. Try thinking about it from another perspective. Imagine that each decision is the wrong one. Which could you not live with yourself after making?”

 

Layla stays silent for a few minutes as she thinks about Lance’s question. “I can’t imagine just letting go of a piece of Keith so easily. It’s going to be hard, but I’m going to go through with this and keep the baby.” She shuffles over to Lance and hugs him tightly. “Thanks Lance. Your help means a lot to me.”

 

“I’m so proud of you.” He says hugging her back. “I didn’t do anything. I just gave you another way to think about it. Any idea when you want to tell everyone?”

 

“I think I’ll tell them at dinner tonight. I really don’t know how to thank you Lance.” Layla can feel her voice start to crack as tears well up in her eyes. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had to make this decision alone. Just having you listen to me helped so much.”

 

“There’s no need to thank me.” Lance says, ruffling her hair. “But I do have to go before Shiro kills me.” He picks up the tray of dishes and starts for the door. “See you at dinner!” He yells as he leaves the room. 

 

When Layla gets to the dining room, Coran and Pidge are already there. Pidge is buried in a tablet so she barely notices that Layla comes in. Coran asks her quietly how she’s doing and Layla tells him that she’s made a decision and will tell everyone before dinner. He nods and pats her on the back before taking his seat. Lance is the next to come in and can see the nervousness all over Layla’s face. They both sit down and Lance tries to silently calm her nerves. Hunk is handing out plates as Shiro and Allura take their seats. Layla worries that the rest of the team won’t support her decision or worse yet, make her leave the castle. Once everyone is in their seats, Layla speaks up before they can start eating. 

 

“If it’s ok, there’s something I’d like to share with everyone.” As everyone looks at her, Layla feels like she might pass out. She feels Lance squeeze her shoulder for encouragement. “I’m pregnant. About 2 months along now.”

 

Everyone at the table is silent which makes Layla start to panic. Lance whispers encouraging words in her ear in the silence. Allura is the first to speak up. “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

 

“I have. I’ve known for a few days and have put a lot of thought into this decision. This could very well be the last piece of Keith I have so I’ve decided to keep the baby. And I would like to keep staying at the castle with them if you all will still have me.” Layla answers, her voice shaking with uncertainty and fear. 

 

The room is filled with noise as everyone starts talking at once. They all assure her that she can stay in the castle and that they will all help in any way they can. The fear Layla was feeling is replaced with appreciation. Hunk officially declares dinner to be a celebration and promises something special for desert. 

 

After all the congratulations are complete, everyone starts eating. Telling everyone feels like a weight has been lifted off Layla’s shoulders. Coran starts asking about what to expect during a human pregnancy. Only Lance is able to answer most of the questions since he comes from a large family. None of the other Paladins have much experience with pregnancy. This continues on for the rest of the meal until the plates are cleared and Hunk brings what looks and tastes like a chocolate cake to the table. 

 

Pidge speaks up while her fellow Paladins are stuffing their faces with cake. “I know the decision couldn’t have been easy, but are you ok with it? I mean, you don’t think you’ll regret it will you?”

 

“I’d say it was the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my life so far. I’m not sure if I could’ve come to it without Lance’s help.” Layla explains, “He listened to all my pros and cons and asked me if both decisions were the wrong one, which one would I regret the most.”

 

Pidge looks shocked. “That’s actually a genius way to think about it. It gives you a perspective that you normally wouldn’t think of. Good job Lance!”

 

“I’m glad you were able to come up with a decision.” Shiro tells Layla. “Just remember, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks of your decision, as long as you’re happy with it.”

 

Everyone at the table agrees with Shiro. Layla is also told that if she needs anything that they’re all there and willing to help. By this time, everyone is finished with desert and Layla thinks that she’s going to spend the rest of the evening in her room and try to sleep. All the nervousness and excitement today has taken its toll on her. 

 

She feels lighter on her feet on the way to her room, like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders. Walking into her room, her eyes fall first on the knife Keith got her for their first anniversary. Sitting on the bed with it, she wonders about her unborn child.  _ “I wonder if I’ll give this to our child when they’re old enough. How much will they look like Keith? How will being 1/4 Galra affect them?” _ Setting the knife back on the nightstand, she gets ready for bed and turns in for the night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The surprises aren’t over yet. Keith is alive and he has a surprise of his own. Everyone is ecstatic, but Layla can’t figure out a way to tell Keith she’s pregnant.

The next month goes by fairly uneventfully. The team takes on some more missions, more planets join the Voltron Coalition and Voltron is able to take out another couple of Galra fleets. They still search for Keith whenever they wormhole anywhere new, but they still aren’t able to find any clues as to where he is. 

 

Layla is 3 months pregnant and her morning sickness is getting worse. She isn’t throwing up every morning, but she is very nauseated every morning. The team is more surprised when she shows up for breakfast than when she misses it.  She’s also just barely starting to show. It’s not enough for anyone to notice, but it’s enough for her pants to be a bit more snug. She’s stopped training so hard since she found out she was pregnant. Now she sits in on the team’s training sessions and partakes in some light cardio and weights when she can. 

 

Today, she’s in Green’s hanger with Pidge and Hunk while they’re showing her the things they’re making for the baby’s room. Most of it is still in the concept stage, like the diaper changing machine that Layla hopes does not get made. They do have an almost working baby monitor so far. 

 

“We already have it outputting audio and video to your end.” Pidge explains. 

 

“We’re just working on getting it to allow you to speak to the baby through it and to play preloaded lullabies” Hunk finishes.

 

Layla can’t believe they’re going through so much trouble. “That sounds amazing! I can’t believe you’re doing all this.”

 

Before either of them can reply, Coran’s voice booms over the castle-wide comm system asking everyone in the castle to come to the bridge ASAP. Pidge, Hunk and Layla look at each other thoroughly confused, but leave the hanger anyways and rush to the bridge.

 

Being in Green’s hanger means they’re the last ones to get to the bridge. As the door opens they can hear Allura talking to someone but they can’t see the screen to know who it is. Lance and Shiro turn to look at her as soon as she comes in. Layla can’t get a read on their faces to even take a guess as to what’s going on. She continues into the room with Pidge and Hunk on either side of her. The moment that the screen comes into view all three of them stop dead in their tracks. Pidge and Hunk look at each other and at Layla. Layla just steps away from them towards the middle of the room where Allura is. 

 

“Keith?” Layla can’t believe what she’s seeing. He looks battered and dirty, but it’s Keith. Her Keith.

 

Keith stops mid-sentence and his gaze shifts from Allura to Layla. She can see his face soften when he heard her voice. “Layla, I…”

 

Before he can say anything else Pidge interrupts. “What happened? Kolivan told us you were dead.” 

 

“I’ll explain when I get to the castle. As long as you don’t go anywhere it should take me about 30 minutes to get to you.” Keith turns to look beside him where the comm screen can’t see. “I also have a surprise with me.” 

 

“I’ll have your usual hangar ready when you get here.” Allura informs him. 

 

“Thanks Allura. I’ll be there soon.” 

 

The comms disconnect and the room starts buzzing with excitement. No one expected this and they’re not sure how to react. Layla is so overwhelmed that she needs to lean against a console. She looks around the room and sees everyone so happy, but no one looks happier than Shiro. She hasn’t seen him this happy in months and that in itself warms her heart. Shiro deserves to be happy. She’s never been happier, more confused and terrified all at once. She’s ecstatic that Keith is alive, confused as to what happened to keep him away for so long and terrified at how she’s going to tell him about the pregnancy. They’d never talked about children, what if he doesn’t want one? Her thoughts are interrupted by Lance asking her if she’s ok. 

 

“I-I don’t know. I’ve never been happier and more terrified at the same time.” Her voice soft in comparison to everyone around her. “I mean, Keith’s alive and that’s all I’ve ever wanted. But how am I going to tell him I’m pregnant? Will he even believe me when I tell him it’s his?” She can feel her breath start to quicken.

 

Lance pulls her into a hug. “Calm down. You still have time to figure out how to tell him. Right now, concentrate on the fact he’s alive and will be home soon.”

 

Layla nods, knowing that he’s is right. She’s not showing enough that it’s obvious, but she can’t hide it for long. She needs to take things one at a time right now. And first is celebrating that Keith is alive and coming home. 

 

“Come on! We need to get to the hangar before Keith gets here!” Hunk yells out as he starts to rush out of the room. 

 

Everyone gets to the hanger just as Keith’s shuttle is docking. Layla holds her breath waiting for the door to open. Keith emerges from the shuttle in his Blade armour. It’s ripped, torn and stained by blood. Layla’s heart drops looking at it, wondering what he went through to cause that damage. As people start to greet Keith, he looks around at the team as if looking for something. His eyes land on Layla and he rushes to her. Layla buries her face in his neck and cries. Keith pulls away for a second, giving himself just enough room to find Layla’s lips. The kiss is slow and tender, as if to make sure that this is real. The rest of the team know better than to interrupt them. Soon, someone else emerges from the shuttle. A Galra female, about a foot taller than Keith. Shiro is the first to notice her and asks who she is. 

 

Keith reluctantly tears his eyes away from Layla to answer him. “Everyone, this is Krolia. My mother.”

 

Everyone looks between Keith and Krolia, not knowing what to say. Allura is the first to break the silence. “It’s wonderful to meet you. I’m Princess Allura and let me be the first to welcome you to the Castle of Lions. Any friend or family of Keith’s is a friend of ours.”

 

This snaps the rest of the team out of their stunned silence. They all agree with Allura and welcome Krolia to the castle. They take turns introducing themselves one by one. Shiro has to introduce Layla as she’s unable to tear herself away from Keith. 

 

“Thank you all for the warm welcome. I wasn’t sure about coming here but Keith insisted that I would be welcome.” She looks around the room at all the smiling faces. “I’ve heard so much about you all that I almost feel like I already know you.” She turns to Layla and smiles. “And I’ve heard the most about you.”

 

“I’m sure you both would like to rest after your long journey. If required we have the healing pods for any injuries.” Allura offers. “This will give me time to contact Kolivan and let him know you’re here Keith. For now, please make yourselves at home.”

 

Keith and Krolia agree that a healing pod might be a good idea. Neither of them feel bad enough to need more than an hour. Coran leads them to the med bay with Shiro and Layla in tow. The rest of the team goes with Allura to call Kolivan and to prepare a room for Krolia. Keith and Layla continue to be wrapped up in each other while Coran prepares the healing pods. Krolia and Shiro watch them both and smile. Coran interrupts the scene to let them know that the pods are ready. Keith walks over to the pod with Layla close behind. He tells her how much he loves her and kisses her one more time before getting into the pod. According to the readouts, both of them will only be in there for 30 minutes. Coran leaves to see if anyone needs help with anything, leaving Layla and Shiro in the med bay. 

 

Layla sits on the floor and leans against the side of the healing pod that Keith is in when Shiro starts speaking. “I never thought I’d ever see him again. How are you holding up right now?” 

 

“I’ve never been happier and more terrified in my life.” Layla answers. “I mean, I’ve dreamt about seeing him again for months and this is literally a dream come true. But we never talked about having kids. I don’t even know if he wants to be a father. Having to tell him about the pregnancy terrifies me in ways I can’t explain.”

 

“It will be ok.” Shiro sits across from her leaning against Krolia’s healing pod. “It’s going to be hard, but I know you can do it.”

 

“I just need to make sure that no one else mentions it until I get the chance to tell Keith.” Layla stands and walks to the comm system by the med bay doors and calls Lance. She asks him to tell everyone else not to mention she’s pregnant until she’s had a chance to tell Keith. 

 

It’s not too long after that when the healing pods beep signaling the cycle is complete. Layla catches Keith and helps him to balance himself when he’s released and Shiro does the same for Krolia. Both of them are feeling better but they both also need a shower and maybe a nap. Shiro offers to figure out where Krolia is staying and to take her there. Layla and Keith start heading to their room. 

 

Keith shuts the door behind him when they get to their room. He immediately hugs Layla as tightly as he can. “I missed you so much. There were moments where I thought I’d never see you again.”

 

Layla hugs him back as hard as she can. “I missed you too. I love you so much. I never dreamt that I’d see you again. Not after Kolivan told us you were dead.”

 

After a few minutes Keith decides that he really needs a shower and to get out of his ripped up Blade armour. Layla doesn’t want to let go of him, but eventually does to sit on the bed while Keith undresses. As he unzips and steps out of his armour, she notices new scars along his body. She fights the urge to touch them and ask about them, there will be plenty of time for that later. 

 

Layla is still laying on the bed when Keith is out of the shower. He dresses from the waist down in his usual skinny jeans and and lays down next to her and holds her. They both fall asleep and are woken up half an hour later by Shiro knocking on the door. Kolivan is here and it’s time to hear about what happened to Keith in the last 3 months. They both begrudgingly get out of bed so Keith can pull on a shirt and his boots. He grabs his jacket and they head to the briefing room together. 

 

When they get there Kolivan and two other Blade members are already there. Layla glances at Lance with a raised eyebrow, silently asking if he told everyone. Lance can tell exactly what Layla wants to know and he nods yes to assure her that they all know. Layla lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Once everyone is in the room and sitting down Allura asks Keith to what happened in the last 3 months, without giving away details of the mission of course. 

 

Keith explains that there was a total of 5 Blade members that went on the mission. About a week and a half into the mission, they started going missing one by one. It was always during the day if someone was alone. If they went out in groups, they were safe. Unfortunately, because of the mission, going out in groups wasn’t always possible. Keith was the 4th to go missing almost a month in. He goes on to say that he doesn’t know who took him. He never saw their faces and the translator in his suit couldn’t translate their language.

 

When they took him, he was drugged with something that reminded him of chloroform and then bound and blindfolded. The next thing he knew he was waking up in a small cell. He wasn’t hurt or tortured and was fed on a regular basis. He still doesn’t know why he was held captive as they didn’t try to get information out of him. Their guard schedule seemed random so it took about a month for him to be able to escape with the least amount of fighting. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to get any information on where the other Blade members were or what happened to them.

 

He searched the planet for about 2 weeks, looking for a way out or a way to contact someone. One day he came across a small shuttle that he hadn’t seen before. Not seeing anyone around he went into the shuttle and didn’t find anyone inside. Instead of waiting around, he decided to steal the shuttle. As he was just about to start the ship, he felt a knife at his throat and heard a voice telling him to put his hands up and slowly get out of the chair. He slowly stood up but then quickly pushed the knife away from his throat and reached for his own blade.

 

Krolia speaks up and says that’s when she recognized the blade as her own that she left with Keith when she left Earth. She had demanded to know where he got the knife and who he stole it from. Keith told her that it was given to him by his mother when he was a baby. That’s when she realized that the man trying to steal her shuttle was the son she left on Earth. She explained who she was and that she left the knife with her son on Earth. They both realized they really were mother and son. She explains that she was on the planet because she heard there might be information on the Galra Empire that would help in the war.

 

Keith picks up again and says that he told her he came to the planet for a mission from the BoM and what happened since he got there. He told her he needed to get back to the Castle of Lions as soon as possible and needed her to take him there. They left that night and spent the next two weeks trying to track down the castle. Once they found it, they hailed it as soon as they were close enough and here they are.

 

The entire time he’s talking Keith his holding Layla’s hand, squeezing it randomly. Once he’s finished the entire room stays silent after hearing the ordeal he went through. Kolivan breaks the silence by asking if he can speak to Keith and Krolia alone. As the Paladins start to leave the room, Hunk says he’ll start preparing dinner for everyone. Kolivan says that he will be leaving after this, so there is no need to prepare anything for him or the Blade members that came with him. Before Layla can leave the room, Keith squeezes her hand one more time and kisses her gently. Reluctantly she leaves the room with the rest of the team. 

 

Lance walks with her on the way to the dining room. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but any idea when you’re going to tell Keith? You’re starting to show so you can’t put it off for long.”

 

“I know. I just need to figure out how to bring it up. I can’t just be like ‘So funny story, I’m pregnant and it’s yours.’” Layla replies. “I’m going to have to do it ASAP, I doubt I’ll be able to hide morning sickness to very long.”

 

About half an hour later, Keith, Krolia, Kolivan and the two Blade members walk into the dining room. Kolivan says goodbye to everyone and thanks Allura for contacting him right away. His last request is for Allura to accompany him to his shuttle. She agrees and leaves with Kolivan and the Blade members. 

 

Layla and Lance have been standing off to the side talking about her pregnancy. Lance notices Keith walking towards them and stops mid-sentence so Keith doesn’t hear them. Keith slides up to Layla’s side and wraps his arms around her waist. She leans into him and nuzzles into his neck. Everyone in the room wants to talk to Keith and Krolia which is ok with Layla. It gives her some time to think of a way to break the news to Keith. 

 

Once Allura gets back, Krolia says that she has something to tell everyone. “I’m going to be leaving for Blade headquarters within the next week. They need as many people as they can get. I’d love to stay here longer and spend time with my son, but the war needs to end sooner rather than later.”

 

Everyone continues talking about the last few months and Krolia leaving for the BoM. Layla doesn’t pay attention to any of it. She stays by Keith’s side, holding onto him to make sure this is real. She’s so caught up in her thoughts that she doesn’t hear Hunk shouting that dinner’s ready. 

 

After dinner, Keith continues to spend some time with the rest of the team for a few hours in the lounge. Eventually, he and Layla head back to their room to get ready for bed. Layla changes in the bathroom to try to hide her baby bump. Once she gets to bed, she tries to keep Keith from touching her stomach without being too obvious. 

 

Keith props himself up on his elbow so he can see Layla’s face. “You’re fidgeting quite a bit. Is everything ok?”

 

“I’m fine. My stomach is a little off from too much excitement today.” She burrows into the blankets and cuddles against Keith. Lying to Keith is the last thing she wants to do, but she has no choice at the moment. 

 

When Keith wakes up the next morning, Layla is already awake and in the bathroom. He hears that he thinks is Layla throwing up coming through the closed door. He tries to open the bathroom door but finds it locked. Knocking on the door, he shouts in asking if she’s ok. Cursing herself for being so loud, Layla shouts back that she’s ok and will be out in a few minutes. After about 10 minutes, she leaves the bathroom dressed and ready to go. Keith has gotten dressed while waiting for her so they both leave to head to the dining room for breakfast. When they get to the dining room, they find Shiro talking with Krolia making plans to train after breakfast. Shiro invites Keith to train with them. Keith says maybe then asks Layla if she’s been keeping up with her training. Without having to lie, she says that she’s slowed down her training a bit over the last couple of months. She tells him to go train, she will sit this one out.

 

After breakfast, Keith goes with Shiro and Krolia to train and Layla spends some time with Hunk in the kitchen helping him with some new recipes. 

 

“Shiro, have you noticed that Layla is acting strange? I think there’s something wrong but she won’t tell me.” Keith asks Shiro in between sparring rounds. 

 

“I’m sure she’s just overwhelmed. She’ll be fine soon I’m sure.” Shiro replies, being caught off guard and having to think of a lie quickly.

 

Keith accepts the response and they continue training for the next couple hours until lunch. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Layla continues to try to hide her pregnancy from Keith until she can tell him. Keith eventually convinces her to tell him what’s wrong, but how does he react? Allura and Lance have a surprise for Keith and Layla.

The next week goes by much the same way, with Layla shying away from Keith when he gets close to her stomach and hiding in the bathroom every morning. Krolia has left for Blade headquarters and the castle seems a little more empty without her.

 

Layla has been spending the week hiding her stomach and morning sickness from Keith and getting more stressed about it every day. Every time she tries to tell Keith she’s pregnant, she chickens out. Only to repeat the hiding process the next day. The stress is starting to take its toll on her as she talks to Lance about it. Their latest conversation takes place in the kitchen while Keith is training with Shiro. She tells Lance that Keith is starting to get suspicious about all the hiding she’s been doing. She can’t keep going on like this and needs to find the courage to tell him now.

 

“Shiro, I know something is wrong with Layla. Just tell me what happened.” Keith asks Shiro during a break in their training. “And don’t tell me she’s just overwhelmed. There’s something going on.” 

 

“Just talk to her Keith. I can’t tell you what happened while you were gone. That needs to come from Layla.” Shiro repeats the same thing he keeps telling Keith. 

 

“Shiro, I’ve tried so many times. She will barely let me touch her. Sometimes she turns away when I try hold her.” Shiro can see fear creep into Keith’s face. “Is there someone else? She’s been spending a lot of time with Lance, did something happen between them?”

 

“Stop right there Keith.” Shiro puts his hand up to stop Keith from continuing. “No, there is not someone else I can guarantee that. All I can say is talk to her. We all have to head out to give a talk this afternoon and you both will have the castle to yourselves, try talking to her then.”

 

“I’ll try. I hope it works this time.”

 

Keith and Shiro lose track of time and train right up to lunch. They head straight to the dining room without showering. There are some complaints, mostly from Lance, but lunch goes by quickly so Shiro can shower and the rest of the team can leave. After a quick shower, Keith sets out to find Layla. He eventually finds her in the lounge reading a book. 

 

He sits down next to her on the couch and lightly pushes the book away. “Layla, we need to talk and really talk this time.” Keith starts. “I need to know what happened in the 3 months I was gone. You’ve been secretive and pull away when I touch you. You lock yourself in the bathroom constantly and always say you’re fine.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “I need to know what happened. Is there someone else? I don’t blame you if there is, but just tell me.”

 

Layla throws her book to the side and throws herself against Keith. “No! Never. There could never be anyone but you. I love you so much.”

 

Keith pulls away enough that he can see her face. “Then what’s going on? Please tell me. It’s killing me to think you don’t trust me enough to tell me.” The fear in his eyes growing as he speaks. 

 

Looking into his eyes, Layla can see tears start to form and coming close to rolling down Keith’s face. She holds her head down in shame. “I’m sorry for hiding this from you. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I didn’t know how.” Lifting her head and looking into his eyes she finally confesses. “Keith, I’m pregnant. It happened the week before you left on your last mission.”

 

Keith’s eye go wide and Layla worries that she made a mistake until she sees a smile spread across his face. “So that’s why you’ve been hiding and not wanting me to touch you?”

 

“Yea, morning sickness and I’m starting to show a little.” Layla says nodding. 

 

Keith lets go of her hands and pulls her into a hug. He can’t believe he’s going to be a father. He asks if anyone else knows and Layla confirms that everyone else in the castle knows. They spend the rest of the time alone in the lounge with Keith touching Layla’s stomach, not being able to believe that his baby is in there. He takes a quick break from that to call Krolia at Blade headquarters to tell her the news. After congratulating them, she almost hangs up on Keith so she can tell the other Blade members. When the other Paladins get back they see Keith and Layla sprawled on a couch with Layla laying half on top of Keith. 

 

During dinner, Layla tells everyone that she told Keith she was pregnant and there’s no need to hide it anymore. Keith is beaming next to her while she’s telling the rest of the team. Everyone is relieved they no longer have to hide when talking about the pregnancy.

 

“Now that Keith knows, there’s a lot Hunk and I have to show him.” Pidge speaks up. “After dinner, you’re coming to Green’s hanger with us to see what we’ve been working on for the baby.”

 

“Please try to talk them out of the diaper changing machine if they mention it.” Layla whispers to Keith. Keith is horrified at the idea but doesn’t ask any questions. 

 

Once dinner is complete, Keith is dragged off by Pidge and Hunk. Layla notices Allura and Lance whispering amongst themselves before the get up and hurry out of the room before anyone can question them. Shiro heads to the lounge to get some reading done, leaving Coran and Layla in the room. 

 

“Since everyone has left, do you mind if we do another scan of the baby?” Coran asks. 

 

“Sure. We’re about due for another one. I was hoping Keith could be there for this one, but I’m not setting foot in Green’s hanger. I’m scared of some of the machines that Pidge is working on.”

 

They both laugh and start to head to the med bay. Coran has finished the scans and is reviewing the information when Keith finds his way to the med bay. 

 

“So, what kind of things are they working on now?” Layla asks. 

 

Keith shakes his head, “You don’t want to know.”

 

“You’re just in time Keith!” Coran says. “I was just about to tell Layla that she’s at the point in the pregnancy that I can generate an ultra sound picture of the baby.” He shows them the console screen with the scan he just took. “I can send the picture right to your tablets.”

 

Layla can’t hide her excitement. “Really? I’d love that!” 

 

“I didn’t think it’d be this soon, but the baby seems to be growing faster than expected due to the Galra genes.” Coran explains as he hits a few buttons on the console. “There, the scan should be on both your tablets now.” 

 

Coran chats with them a bit more on what to expect, like possibly having the baby before the usual human 9 months due to the baby growing a bit faster. Layla and Keith head back to their room excited to have a picture of their baby.

 

The next day, Keith contacts Kolivan and tells him that he isn’t going to accept any missions for a while because of Layla’s pregnancy. Kolivan understands and explains that Krolia already told everyone who will listen that she is going to be a grandmother. He congratulates both Keith and Layla and wishes them the best. 

 

**************************************************

 

“Allura, where are we going?” Layla asks as her and Keith follow Allura and Lance down a hallway of bedrooms. The rest of the team is following behind Keith and Layla, not knowing what’s going on either. 

 

“Here we are!” Lance announces when they get to a seemingly random door. Lance and Allura grab Keith and Layla and stand them in front of the door. Lance hits the mechanism to open the door as he and Allura yell surprise.

 

Keith and Layla can’t believe what they’re seeing as they walk into the room. The room is quite a bit larger than the standard rooms in the castle. Half the room is decorated in pastels with a crib and changing table on one wall and a rocking chair on the other. There’s a small shelving unit near the chair with some plush toys and books on it. They even see some of the gadgets Pidge and Hunk have been working on. The other half is decorated in darker neutral colours and looks a lot like Keith and Layla’s current room. The rest of the team piles into the room to see what Lance and Allura did. Layla walks around looking and touching the nursery items and furniture. She’s about to start crying when Keith wraps his arm around her. 

 

“This is amazing. How did you guys do this?” He asks Lance.

 

“Lots of sneaking. You didn’t think all those missions Allura and I went on were actual missions did you?” Lance smirks. 

 

“I don’t know what to say.” Layla manages to say between sniffles. “I can’t believe you both did this for us.”

 

“The last few months have been tough for everyone especially you and Keith. You both deserve this.” Allura tells them.

 

After a ton of hugs, tears and thank yous, Keith and Layla are alone in their new room/nursery. Layla is sitting on the bed and Keith is looking around the nursery. 

 

“Everything just seems more real now.” Layla’s rubbing her growing stomach. “It’s all coming together so quickly.”

 

“This is all just unbelievable.” Keith says, sitting next to Layla. “I never thought I’d have someone I love so much and friends that would do something like this.”

 

Layla rests her head on Keith’s shoulder. “So when do you think we should move in?”

 

“We have lots of time, you’re not due for another few months. We’ll just move things slowly and we’re done when we’re done.”

 

“Sounds perfect.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tragedy strikes again. Layla miscarries late into the pregnancy. While Coran and Pidge try to figure out why, Layla starts to pull away from everyone as she grieves.  
> *Trigger warning: miscarriage*

A couple weeks later and Layla is 5 months along. She and Keith are making good headway moving their things to the new room. Layla takes a couple days off moving things before her next check up with Coran. Keith decides to get a bit of extra training in with Shiro in between the Paladins being off on missions. 

 

Layla normally watches Keith while he trains, but decides to take a nap this time. About an hour into her nap, she wakes up to a sharp pain in her stomach. It only lasts a few minutes so she chalks it up the baby shifting positions and punching her organs, her body wasn’t exactly made to handle a baby growing so quickly. It doesn’t happen again the rest of the day, so she doesn’t bother mentioning it to Keith.

 

The next morning, Layla wakes up in an incredible amount of pain. It feels like the sharp pains from the day before but the intensity has been ramped up. The pain is enough that even breathing hurts. Panicking, she frantically starts shaking Keith. Keith wakes up and upon seeing the pain on Layla’s face, he starts to panic.

 

“Something’s wrong….pain….need Coran….” Layla says between painful breaths. 

 

Keith jumps out of bed and runs to the comm panel. “Coran! There’s something wrong with Layla and the baby. She’s in a lot of pain. Meet us in the med bay.” He shouts into the comms when Coran answers. 

 

He throws a shirt on with his pajama pants and tries to help Layla out of bed. She immediately falls back onto the bed and tells Keith she can’t walk. Without wasting any time, Keith picks her up as gingerly as he can and makes his way out of the room. He rushes to the med bay as quickly and carefully as he can. Luckily, it’s so early that the hallways are empty. They walk into the med bay seconds after Coran arrives.

 

“I don’t know what’s happening.” Keith tells Coran as he lays Layla down on an exam table. “She woke up in pain. I don’t think she’s been in pain before this, she never mentioned it.”

 

Coran has started running scans on Layla. “Where does it hurt? Is it just your stomach?” He asks Layla. 

 

Not being able to speak, Layla can only nod indicating that it’s only her stomach that hurts. Coran hooks Layla up to a few monitors and gives her something for the pain. While Coran is hooking up monitors and checking their outputs, Keith is standing next to Layla holding her hand and trying to comfort her as best he can. Coran is looking at the monitors and results that he’s gathered so far and starts frowning. Keith and Layla are panicking as they watch Coran’s facial expressions change to those of concern. 

 

“Coran…” Keith starts.

 

“I don’t know how to explain it.” Coran says. “But Layla’s body is suddenly rejecting the pregnancy. She’s in the process of a miscarriage. I’m not sure how it’s happening, but I think it might have to do with Galra DNA. I don’t know enough about Human DNA to be able to give a solid answer right now.”

 

Coran stops talking and starts looking at more results from the monitors he has hooked up. Keith and Layla hold each other and cry, fearing the worst and deep down knowing that it was going to be a reality.

 

Coran turns to them looking heartbroken. “I can’t save the baby. Too much damage has been done. I recommend operating to remove the baby before it can cause permanent damage to Layla.”

 

Layla and Keith lock eyes and they both know that this is the only option now. They both agree to the operation. Coran preps himself for the operation and asks Keith to leave the med bay while he operates. He tells them that he will put Layla into a healing pod after the operation then Keith will be allowed in.

 

“I love you.” Keith tells Layla. “I’ll be just outside waiting.”

 

“I love you too.” She replies.

 

Reluctantly Keith leaves the med bay so Coran can start the surgery. When the door shuts, Keith leans against the wall and slides down to the floor. He’s there for a minute when he sees Shiro coming down the hall. He tells Keith that he heard a commotion and came to see what was happening. Keith explains what happened and that Layla is having surgery to remove the baby. Shiro only says the words I’m sorry and hugs Keith and lets him cry into his chest. Shiro tells him that it sounds like nothing could’ve been done to prevent this. Keith understands, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less. They both stay in the hallway for a couple hours when Coran opens the door to the med bay. 

 

“The operation was a success.” Coran tells them. “Layla is currently in a healing pod to recover. You can come in and see her now.”

 

Keith goes into the med bay and Shiro stays at the door. Keith walks over to the healing pod that Layla is in and puts his hand on the pod where her face is. “How long will she in in there?”

 

“She should be out in an hour or 2.” Coran answers while Keith sits on the floor next to the pod.

 

“Do you have any idea what caused this? If it was my Galra DNA, wouldn’t it have caused a problem earlier?”

 

Coran answers as he’s looking over more scans. “I won’t know until I run more tests. I gathered more scans and information during the surgery that should help. I’m not going to rest until I know what happened.” 

 

“Thanks Coran. I appreciate it and all you’ve done for us.” Keith says.

 

“Keith, I do have a question.” Coran says, turning towards Keith. “This would be a lot quicker with another pair of eyes. Is it ok with you if I ask Pidge to help me?”

 

“Of course.” Keith answers. “I know you two working together will get results fast.”

 

“Thank you. I’ll ask Pidge once she’s awake.” Coran goes back to reviewing scans to see if he can figure out what happened. 

 

Shiro leaves the doorway and makes his way into the room. He sits on the floor across from Keith and just watches him. Keith looks like he’s barely holding it together. It reminds Shiro of Layla when Kolivan told them Keith was dead. 

 

“Do you want me to stay with you until she wakes up?” Shiro asks softly. 

 

Keith only shakes his head in response. All he can think of is being strong for Layla. All that matters to him is her and her being ok. Shiro stands to leave, stopping to talk to Coran on the way out of the med bay. 

 

Keith sits next to the pod, unmoving for the next hour with his knees tucked up to his chest and his hair falling in his face. It’s a poor effort to hide his tear stained face and he knows it. Coran doesn’t say much other than a slight humming once and awhile. Keith figures he’s still in here because Shiro asked him to keep an eye him. After an hour, the healing pod beeps, signaling that it’s ready to open. Keith stands at the door, ready to catch Layla once the door opens. The door slowly hisses open and she starts to fall towards Keith. He catches her easily and holds her upright. Layla slowly comes to and remembers where she is and what happened. Looking up at Keith she wants to ask if the surgery was successful but can’t bring herself to say the words. As if Keith can read her mind, he slowly nods, indicating that the surgery was successful. She drops her head into Keith’s shoulder and cries. 

 

Coran gives them a few minutes before he goes over to check on Layla. “The surgery was a success. I still don’t know what caused this to happen, but I will be working round the clock until I find out.” He looks at Layla, “If it’s ok with you I’d like to have Pidge help me find out why. Keith has already agreed, but I want to have permission from both of you to share this information.”

 

“It’s ok with me. I’d like to know what went wrong and have a way to prevent it in the future.” Layla responds. 

 

Coran thanks them for allowing Pidge to help. “Before I let you leave, I’d like to do one last scan to make sure the healing pod got everything. Then you can head back to your room.”

 

Layla nods as Keith lifts her up and helps her onto the exam table nearby. Coran finishes his scan and confirms that the healing pod did it’s job. He tells her to relax and not to do anything strenuous for a while.

 

Keith helps Layla back to their room and they collapse into bed. “What’s going to happen now?” Layla asks. “I don’t know how to tell everyone. I-I just don’t know.” The more she speaks, the softer her voice gets. 

 

Keith holds her close, nuzzling the top of her head with his nose. “We’ll get through this. We just need to take it day by day. We can worry about telling everyone later.”

 

Layla lays into Keith, feeling his warmth and strength. “You’re not going to leave right? Even though I’m broken. What if I can never give you a child?”

 

She can feel Keith tense as he processes what she just said. “First, I’m not going anywhere. I love you more than life itself. Second, you’re not broken. Nothing about you is broken. You’re perfect.” He kisses the top of her head gently.

 

Clinging onto Keith’s shirt, Layla tries her hardest to believe him. She wants to believe everything he says, but there’s a voice inside her that tells her she’s broken and will just be a burden.

 

“Listen,” Keith says breaking the silence. “What do you say we try to get some rest and figure some of this out when we wake up?”

 

Nodding, Layla lays down and Keith follows suit. She falls asleep clinging to Keith, hoping that he will still be there when she wakes up. 

 

**************************************************

 

Layla rolls over and feels an empty spot on the bed. Her instincts take over and she sits up in a panic.  _ “Where is Keith? Did he leave? He said he’d stay.” _ Her mind goes crazy thinking of different ways Keith could have left and she starts to wonder if he’s even in the castle. She pulls her knees up to her chest as tears start to hit her cheeks.  _ “He left. He’s gone.” _ Her panic attack hits a high and her breathing becomes erratic when the bathroom door opens and Keith emerges fresh out of the shower. He runs to Layla and holds her, asking what’s wrong. 

 

“I woke up and you were gone. I thought you didn’t love me and left.” she whimpers.

 

“I’m sorry. I should have waited to shower until you were awake.” Keith apologizes. “I didn’t know you’d panic if I wasn’t there. I’m so sorry. I’ll never leave you. I love you so much.”

 

They stay like this for a few minutes while Layla calms down and can breathe again normally. She apologizes for panicking, she didn’t mean to. Keith assures her that there’s no need for her to apologize. Looking at the clock, they realize they have about an hour until lunch. Layla thinks telling the rest of the team sooner rather than later is the best way to go. Keith tells her that Shiro already knows, the commotion woke him up and he kept Keith company while she was in surgery. Pidge will know soon if she doesn’t already. Leaving the need to tell Allura, Hunk and Lance. After a brief talk, they decide to tell them at lunch. Layla wants to shower before lunch but is still too weak to do it on her own. Keith carefully helps her get out of bed and to the bathroom. She sits down in the tub while Keith turns on the shower and helps her get cleaned up. All the time he whispers to her how much he loves her and that they’ll get through this together. He helps her to dry off and brings her back into the bedroom to get dressed. By the time he’s helped her get dressed, it’s time for lunch. 

 

Layla doesn’t want to be carried to the dining room, so they walk slowly so that she doesn’t strain herself. When they turn the last corner on the way, they run into Shiro. He stops them and asks how they are and offers his condolences. They explain that they’re as good as can be expected, considering the circumstances. They plan on telling everyone at lunch so they’re nervous at how people are going to react. Shiro wishes them luck and offers to help them in anyway he can. After thanking him, the three of them continue to the dining room.

 

Pidge spies Keith and Layla as soon as they walk into the kitchen and she springs up from her chair to talk to them away from the team. She tells them that she talked to Coran and she’s sorry to hear about the baby. She’s not going to rest until they know what happened and find a way to prevent it in the future. Keith and Layla thank her for helping Coran and that if anyone can figure it out, it’s going to be the two of them. 

 

They hear Hunk call out that lunch is ready as he brings plates to the table. Keith helps Layla to her seat and hopes she’s able to eat something. During the meal, there’s a few comments and questions about Keith and Layla missing breakfast. Keith responded to all of them with that they weren’t feeling well and stayed in bed. The rest of lunch was fairly quiet. Before people left the table, Layla asks everyone to stay for a few minutes. Everyone looks at Layla as Keith grabs her hand to encourage her. 

 

“I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to say it. This morning I...I lost the baby.” Tears are streaming down her face before she can finish her sentence. She opens her mouth to continue, but nothing comes out. Keith immediately hugs her as she cries into his shoulder.

 

Keith holds her and continues. “Coran said that her body was rejecting the baby somehow. We still don’t know why, but Coran and Pidge are going to try to find that out.”

 

Lance, Hunk and Allura can’t believe what they just heard. Allura is the first to speak up and offer her condolences and offers to help in anyway she can. Lance and Hunk are quick to do the same. Keith thanks everyone for their offers, but right now just need some time to work through this.

 

Layla finds her voice to apologize for the bad news, but for now she’d like to be left to make sense of everything that’s happened. Everyone understands and makes sure that Keith and Layla know they’re here if they need them. Keith and Layla leave to head back to their room and Coran and Pidge leave to head to the med bay. 

 

The moment Layla gets into the room she crawls into bed and sobs into her pillow. Keith crawls in after her and holds her as she cries. “How did this happen?” she asks after a few minutes.”What’s wrong with me?”

 

“There’s nothing wrong with you. You heard Coran, it was possibly the Galra DNA that was the issue. If anything, it was me.” Keith says running his fingers through her hair.

 

Layla looks up at Keith, “But you’re only half Galra. And there were no issues during your mother’s pregnancy.”

 

Layla spends the next few hours curled up in a ball, quietly crying and silently blaming herself for everything.  _ “This is all my fault. I’m broken, no one will want me like this. Keith is probably better off without me. He deserves someone that can give him a child, someone better.” _ By the time dinner time rolls around, she refuses to leave the room so Keith tells her he will get her some food and bring it back. 

 

“Hey, where’s Layla? How’s she doing?” Hunk asks when he sees Keith walk into the dining room by himself. 

 

“She wasn’t up to leaving the room so I thought I’d bring her some food.” 

 

“Gotcha. Two plates coming right up.” Hunk starts preparing a couple plates along with some water pouches.

 

While waiting for Hunk, Keith talks to Coran and Pidge. They haven’t found anything yet, but they’re getting close. They figure it’s only a matter of time. Hunk finishes packing up a couple plates and hands them to Keith along with some water pouches.Keith thanks Hunk and heads back to his room. 

 

When he opens the door he notices that Layla hasn’t moved an inch since he left. He brings the food over to the desk and tells Layla that he has food for her. She mumbles that she’s not hungry and pulls the blanket over her head. Keith keeps trying to ask her to eat, but she refuses.  _ “It’s only one meal. I’ll just keep an eye on her for now.”  _ he thinks. 

 

Layla doesn’t get out of bed for the rest of the evening with the exception of putting on pajamas. Then she’s right back where she was in bed. Keith keeps trying to talk to her, to help her through this. Nothing he tries works, Layla just won’t talk to him. She eventually stops crying long enough to fall asleep. Keith watches her as she’s curled up in a ball turned away from him. He spends most of the night sitting up and watching her. Worrying about if she’ll ever be ok. 

 

The next few days do nothing to help Keith’s worry. If anything, it just makes the rest of the team worry right along side of him. Layla still refuses to leave the room and only gets out of the bed to use the bathroom or quickly shower and change pajamas. Keith is still bringing her food every meal, even though she only ever eats a couple bites. Hunk has even started making her favourite meals to coax her to eat, but nothing works. The rest of the team has tried getting her to talk and they’re all met with Layla turning her back to them and ignoring them. 

 

On day 5 of Layla not leaving the room, Keith gets called to the med bay by Coran. He tries to get Layla to go with him, but again she refuses to leave the room. Keith hesitantly leaves the room and heads to the med bay alone. 

 

“There you are. Is Layla not with you?” Coran asks when he sees Keith walk into the room. 

 

Keith shakes his head. “I couldn’t convince her to leave the room.”

 

“Well we have some good news and bad news for you.” Coran tells Keith. “Good news is that we know what happened. There’s something specific to Layla’s DNA that rejected the Galra DNA in the baby.”

 

“Then how did this not happen sooner?” Keith interrupts.

 

“It wasn’t until the baby got to a certain size that the Galra DNA became noticeable to her body. It didn’t know there was Galra DNA until she was about 5 months along.” Coran explains. 

 

“And that’s the good news?” Keith asks hesitantly. 

 

Pidge steps up next to Coran. “It is. The bad news is that we tried to find a way to prevent it from happening and we can’t. As long as there’s Galra DNA present, Layla won’t be able to carry a baby to term.”

 

Keith feels his head spinning as he processes what Pidge just said. “So we’ll never be able to have a baby?”

 

“I’m sorry Keith. We’ve tried everything we could to find a way.” Pidge says softly.

 

“I know Pidge. And thank you both for everything you’ve done. I just need to find a way to tell Layla.” Keith turns and leaves the room.

 

Keith walks slowly back to the bedroom, trying to think of a way to break the news. He knows it’s not fair to keep it from her, but also knows that it will crush her.  _ “There’s no good way to do this. I’ll have to just tell her and hope for the best.” _ Keith stops at the bedroom door and takes a deep breath before opening it and going in. 

 

“Layla, I just got back from the med bay. I was talking to Coran and Pidge.” Keith says as he sits down on the bed next to her.

 

For the first time in days, Layla sits up and looks at Keith. “And? What did they say” Her face is red and puffy from crying with the exception of the dark circles under her eyes.

 

Keith takes her hands in his and looks at the face of the woman he loves more than life itself. The sheer act of this makes Layla nervous. “Keith? Oh my god, it’s that bad isn’t it?”

 

“There’s something specific to your DNA that rejected the Galra DNA in the baby. It wasn’t until the baby got bigger that there was enough Galra DNA for your body to reject it.” Keith stops, not wanting to finish the explanation. 

 

“But there’s a way they can prevent that right?” Layla asks staring into Keith’s face. He can see a hopeful glimmer in her eyes that he’s going to have to destroy.

 

Keith looks down and takes a deep breath before continuing. “They tried to find a way to prevent it and couldn’t. You’ll never be able to carry a baby if there’s Galra DNA.”

 

The colour drains from her face as Keith speaks. Losing the pregnancy was one thing, but knowing she’ll never be able to have a baby with Keith is just too much. She falls forward into Keith’s arms and cries loudly, not knowing what else to do. Keith isn’t able to hold it back and cries along with her. He hates being the one to cause her this pain, all he wants to do is take her pain away. Later that evening, Layla is back to not speaking and refusing to leave the bed. Keith stays up all night again watching her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Layla continues to pull away from everyone, including Keith. She can’t handle the “broken” feeling she feels and tries to take matters into her own hands. Keith is able to get to her before it’s too late. They are able to talk and Layla is able to get into a better spot mentally.  
> She spends an afternoon with Lance in an attempt to stop pulling away from everyone.   
> *Trigger warning: suicide attempt*

It’s been 10 days since Layla started refusing to leave the room and for the last 3 days she’s been more silent and distant than ever. Keith returns to the room after a quick training session with Shiro and hears Layla moving around in the bathroom. Relieved that she’s out of bed, he starts to tidy up the room. He starts to tidy up her nightstand and notices that the knife he bought her is missing. He quickly looks around the room and can’t see it. Remembering the state she’s been in, he immediately fears the worst and tries to open the bathroom door. Pressing the control pad just results in an error sound. Realizing that it’s locked, he knocks and and calls Layla’s name. He waits a few seconds and gets no response. He listens closer and can hear her crying. He starts banging on the door yelling her name and for her to open the door. The longer he goes without a response, the more frantic and panicked his screams get. He starts begging and pleading with her. Keith grabs his Mamora blade and plunges it into the control pad that controls the bathroom door, causing it to open. He sees Layla sitting on the floor crying. The knife still in her hand and the blade balancing on her wrist. He rushes in and carefully grabs the knife and tosses it outside the room before pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her. She continues crying as he rocks gently back and forth trying to calm her while also checking her for any cuts.

 

After a minute, Layla is able to find her voice. “I don’t know what to do.” Layla sobs. “I love you so much, but you deserve better than me.”

 

Keith pulls away a few inches so she can see his face. “What do you mean I deserve better? What’s better than spending my life with you?”

 

“You deserve someone that’s not broken. Someone that can give you children. Someone that can give you what I can’t.”

 

Hugging her as tightly as he can, Keith tries to reassure her. “Layla, you’re more than I deserve. I’ve done nothing to deserve someone like you. Love or children were never in my life plan. I thought both were just a dream until I met you.” He starts kissing the tears from her cheeks. “I will gladly give up ever having children if it means spending my life with you.”

 

“Do you mean that?” Layla asks. Looking into his eyes, searching for affirmation. 

 

Keith brings her face closer to his and kisses her lightly on the lips. “Completely and forever.”

 

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” Layla says as she curls up in Keith’s lap. “I’m sorry about everything. I haven’t been in my right mind lately and thought you’d be better off without me.”

 

“You don’t have to apologize for anything. I’m just happy you’re safe.” Keith tells her as he rubs her back. “Whatever you need, whatever happens, we’ll do it together.”

 

Enjoying the warmth of Keith’s embrace, Layla hums her agreement. She presses her face into his chest, breathing him in. It’s been a couple of weeks since she’s felt this calm. Keith can feel her body start relax as he holds her. Not having held Layla like this in weeks, he can’t begin to describe the happiness and relief it brings him. 

 

They spend the rest of the afternoon laying in bed talking about how losing the baby has affected each of them. Layla mentions that it seemed Keith wasn’t as upset. He tells her that he had been talking to Shiro and he was helping Keith get a handle on his feelings. Whereas Layla bottled everything up and tried to shoulder everything on her own. Keith makes her promise not to keep things bottled up like that anymore. She doesn’t need to talk to him, but she needs to talk to someone. Keith tries to convince Layla that she doesn’t need to take everything on on her own. He will always be there for her to lean on. Layla agrees that Keith is right about all that and tells him about her thought process the last 10 days leading up to today.

 

After hearing about her body rejecting the pregnancy, she has convinced herself that it was her fault. Losing the baby was a punishment for something she did wrong and that she was broken. She told herself that Keith deserved better, that he’d be better off without her. Every time Keith told her that he loved her, Her mind twisted it into thinking that he didn’t mean it. She tried telling herself that Keith would help her if she’d just reach out. But something deep down stopped her, convincing her that she would only be hurt more if she reached out. She figured that if Keith wouldn’t leave, then she’s the one that had to leave. First, she tried to distance herself to try to make it easier. But that did the opposite, she found herself wanting him more. Not having the strength to leave, she thought suicide was her only option. That way, Keith would be free to find someone that could give him a family. Waiting for a time where she’d be alone was difficult, Keith rarely left her alone for more than 10-20 minutes at a time. While Keith was training with Shiro, she locked herself in the bathroom with the knife. She spent a lot of time crying and asking herself if this was the right thing to do. But there was a voice deep down that told her this was the only way. This would be the only way for Keith to have a real family. Staring at the knife, she brought it up to her wrist and was about to touch the blade to her skin when she heard Keith come into the bedroom. Knowing she had to get this over with, she tried lining up the knife with her wrist but was shaking from the crying she was doing. As she got the blade lined up she heard Keith calling her name. She started crying harder and prepared herself to slide the blade across her wrist when she heard Keith screaming her name this time. The panic in his voice snapped out of the trance she was in and stopped herself from moving the blade. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she should have trusted Keith to help her. Before she could think anything else, Keith had taken the knife and was holding her. 

 

Curling up in Keith’s arms, Layla just keeps repeating “I’m sorry” and “I love you” over and over again. He holds her tightly and tells her it’s ok and he loves her too. He can’t believe how much she suffered and he didn’t even realize it. He apologizes for not realizing what she was going through. They both fall asleep still curled up in each other’s arms. By the time Keith wakes up, it’s just about dinner time. Layla is still sleeping next to him, looking calmer than she has in a while. 

 

“Layla.” Keith nudges her awake. “It’s dinner time. Are you ok alone if I go get us food?”

 

Still half asleep, Layla nods and hums in response. Keith kisses her gently and gets out of bed. Layla is asleep again before he can even leave the room. 

 

The rest of the team is already in the dining room when Keith gets there. They all ask at once how Layla is doing since none of them have seen or heard from her in days. Keith doesn’t feel like it’s his place to explain what happened this afternoon but doesn’t want to lie. He tells them that it was a little rocky for a while, but she’s doing a lot better right now. It will take time for her to be back to how she was, but they’re working on it. Keith explains that they talked and got a lot of things out in the open. Everyone voices their relief at hearing that Layla’s getting better. 

 

Hunk hands Keith a couple extra plates than usual. “I made her favourite dessert tonight. It was going to be to try to help her mood, but now it’s to celebrate her starting to heal.”

 

Keith smiles at the gesture. “Thanks Hunk. I really appreciate you packing up meals like this for us. I hope we can be out here eating with the rest of you soon, but I don’t want to push Layla too hard right now.”

 

“I understand. We all want what’s best for her.” Hunk replies. 

 

“Hey Keith,” Lance says before Keith has a chance to leave. “Maybe if she’s feeling up to it, I can stop by and visit tomorrow? I’ve been really worried and would like to see her.” 

 

“Of course Lance. I’ll mention it to her and let you know.”

 

Keith leaves the room, trying to balance 2 plates, 2 bowls, 2 water pouches and a handful of utensils. He’s trying to open the bedroom door without dropping anything when it opens with Layla standing on the other side smiling. Keith rushes in and puts dinner on the desk before it ends up on the floor. He turns and lifts Layla in his arms and spins her around. “I thought I might never see that smile again.” 

 

Layla lets herself be spun and falls into Keith’s arms. “I never thought I’d be able to smile again.”

 

“I can’t believe that I feel so much better. I should have talked to you sooner and not let it get this far.” Layla says as Keith sets her down. “I mean, I’m still sad. But I don’t feel guilty for being happy anymore.”

 

“That’s amazing. I’m so proud of you.” Keith hugs her and kisses the top of her head. “Come on, we should eat. Hunk made a special dessert for you.”

 

“The rest of the team was concerned and asked how you were when I went to the dining room.” Keith tells her as they sit down to eat. 

 

Nervous about what he told them, “What did you tell them?” Layla asks.

 

“I told them that it was rocky for a while, but you’re doing a lot better now that we talked things out. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t tell them what happened unless you were in danger or if you told me it was ok.”

 

Layla breathes a sigh of relief. “Thanks. I’m not sure if I want to tell them what happened or not.”

 

They both eat in relative silence. Keith because he’s keeping an eye on Layla and Layla because for the first time in days she’s actually eating. Keith couldn’t be happier at the amount of progress that’s happened in the last few hours. Once they’re done eating Keith brings the dishes back to the kitchen with a message from Layla thanking Hunk for the desert. When he gets back to the room, he hears water running in the bathroom and can’t see Layla. Feeling a little apprehensive from the situation earlier, he knocks on the bathroom door and slides it open. Much to his relief, he sees Layla getting ready for a bath. 

 

She jumps a little at the door opening, quickly wrapping herself in her robe. “Quiznak Keith! You scared me."

 

Keith steps towards Layla, “Sorry, I didn’t see you when I came in and wanted to make sure you were ok.” He wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her. “Lance wanted me to ask you if it was ok if he visits tomorrow. He’s worried about you.”

 

“That would be great. I’m no where near back to 100%, but I’m in a way better spot right now.”

 

“Ok, I’ll let him know while you’re in the bath.” Keith let’s go of Layla and turns to leave, “I’ll let you relax and I’ll just be in the other room.”

 

As he’s leaving the room, Layla calls after him. “You can leave the bathroom door open if you want. I know you’ll be more comfortable that way and I’m ok with it.”

 

Without a word, Keith walks out of the room and doesn’t shut the door. He goes to the comms and tells Lance that it’s ok if he stops in tomorrow. Lance thanks Keith for asking since he’s been missing his “little sister”.

 

After about an hour, Layla gets out of the bath and dresses for bed. It’s been a stressing day and she just wants to lay in bed with Keith. When she leaves the bathroom, she sees Keith already laying in bed reading and wastes no time in snuggling up to him. Keith tells her that Lance is excited about being able to see her tomorrow. Hearing that warms Layla’s heart, knowing that other members of the team are concerned, proving to her that she’s not the burden she thought she was. Layla falls asleep first, curled up next to Keith, he falls asleep not too long after. For the first time in a week and a half, they both fall asleep without crying. 

 

**************************************************

 

The next morning, Layla still isn’t sure if she wants to go to breakfast. Keith tells her not to rush things and goes to get them breakfast. 

 

“Keith, do you think it’s ok if I bring lunch for the 3 of us and stay to eat with you guys?” Lance asks. 

 

“I’ll do you one better,” Keith tells him. “Bring lunch for you and Layla and I’ll eat in the dining room.”

 

Lance’s eyes light up like a small child at Christmas. “Really? Thank you Keith!” He throws himself at Keith, almost knocking him over.

 

“Get off me!” Keith yells, shoving Lance away from him. “I think it will be good for her to spend some time with someone that isn’t me.”

 

“Sorry to interrupt but the food is getting cold.” Hunk hands a couple plates to Keith. “I hope she’s up to eating with us soon. It’s a little lonely with 2 empty chairs.”

 

Keith agrees with Hunk and thanks him for the food. He turns to leave when he’s interrupted by Shiro, “Since Lance just ducked out of afternoon training, do you want to take his place?”

 

“That sounds great.” Keith responds. “You’ll have someone there that knows what they’re doing.”

 

“I heard that!” Lance yells in between mouthfuls of food.

 

Keith laughs as he leaves the room, telling Shiro he’ll see him at lunch.

 

When Keith gets back to the bedroom, he tells Layla about Lance having lunch with her and staying for the afternoon. Layla can’t wait to spend time with Lance. She worries about what she’ll tell him if he asks about the last 11 days, but she figures she’ll cross that bridge when she gets there. They spend the rest of the morning tidying up and enjoying each other’s company. Losing track of time, they hear a knock at the door. Keith answers to Lance holding a couple plates of food and a tote bag which he can only assume is filled with face masks and stuff he doesn’t care to know about.

 

“Well I guess this is my cue to leave.” Keith says as he lets Lance in. Before he leaves he kisses Layla lightly. “You two have fun, I’ll be in the training room after lunch if you need me.”

 

They both thank Keith and say goodbye as he leaves the room. 

 

“Thanks for bringing lunch Lance.” Layla thanks Lance as he sets the food on the desk. “I’m really glad you stopped by today. I missed spending time with everyone.”

 

Lance walks over to her and hugs her, “You don’t need to thank me for anything. We’ve all been worried about you. I’m happy you’re up to spending time around other people.”

 

“I’m happy about that too. For a while I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to. I’m glad everyone didn’t give up on me.” Layla says as they sit down to eat.

 

“That would never happen. You’re as much a member of the team as the rest of us.”

 

“That means a lot right now.” Layla responds.

 

“What do you say, once we’re done eating we pamper ourselves a bit and if, and only if you’re up to it, we can hit up the lounge and watch a movie or play some games.” Lance suggests. “I don’t want to rush you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

 

“It’s fine Lance. I think all that sounds great. I can’t guarantee that I’ll be ok to leave the room today, but I’ll let you know if I’m not comfortable.”

 

They chat while they eat, both of them excited to get to spend time together. They spend the next couple hours giving each other face masks and skin treatments. Lance fills Layla in on what’s been happening in the castle and with their missions. Because of his loud personality, the stories are filled with flailing gestures and goofiness. When Lance ends his latest story about Hunk making a cake explode, they’re both laughing. 

 

“You know what? This is the first time I’ve laughed in almost 2 weeks.” Layla tells Lance between giggles. “Thank you. I really needed today.”

 

“Well that is what I’m here for.” Lance says as he stands up and bows. “Laughter and good skin.” 

 

Once they’re done with the last treatment, they still have a couple hours before dinner. Lance brings up going to the lounge to hang out, putting emphasis on not going if it makes Layla uncomfortable. Layla agrees to go, but isn’t sure how she will handle it after being cooped up for so long. She asks Lance if she needs to go back to her room if he’ll bring her back. Lance agrees immediately, he refuses to put her through something she’s uncomfortable with. They clean up the mess they’ve made, they head to the lounge to play some video games. Layla has some anxiety about being outside her room, but that’s to be expected after being cooped up for almost 2 weeks. There’s no one in the halls so that must mean they’re still training. They get to the lounge and Layla sits while Lance sets up the console for them. After about an hour, both of them are so into their game that neither of them notice that the other Paladins are out of training. 

 

Going back to his room, Keith notices that neither Layla or Lance is there. After a quick shower, he starts looking around the castle for them. He’s not panicked because he trusts Lance and knows he’ll take care of Layla. He checks the lounge first and before he can walk in, he can hear Layla laughing. He cautiously walks up to the door and looks in. He’s not in danger of being seen because their backs are to him. He stands there for a few minutes watching them, watching Layla laugh. He didn’t realize before how much he missed her laugh. Much like they’re oblivious to Keith standing at the door, Keith doesn’t notice Shiro come up behind him. Shiro nudges Keith as he stands next to him causing Keith to yelp in response. In turn, Layla and Lance jump at the noise and Lance flies off the couch looking for where the noise came from. Layla turns around just in time to see Keith punch Shiro in the arm for scaring him. 

 

“Keith!” Layla yells. “How long have you been standing there?”

 

“Long enough to hear you laughing.” Keith smiles as he walks into the room. “Until Shiro snuck up on me.” He sneers at Shiro as he follows Keith into the room.

 

“Well you deserve it for sneaking up on us!” Lance complains.

 

“To be fair, he saved me from losing that round, so I’m not complaining.” Layla laughs.

 

Keith makes his way to the couch and sits next to Layla. “Since you’re out here, I’m going to assume you’re feeling better?”

 

Layla nods, “A lot better. I think I can slowly start getting back to my normal routine again.”

 

“That’s great!” Shiro says. “We’ve missed having you both around the castle. Should we be expecting both of you at dinner?”

 

Keith looks at Layla for an answer. “I think so.” Layla responds. “I’m feeling a little anxious right now though, so I think I’ll head back to my room until then.”

 

Before she can leave, Lance pulls her into a hug. “Thank you. We’ve all been so worried and I had a great time spending the afternoon with my little sister.” 

 

“It meant a lot to me too. Thank you.” Layla says, returning the hug. 

 

Keith and Layla return to their room and spend the time until dinner talking about Layla’s afternoon and how she’s going to slowly start getting back to her old routine.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Months later and every thing is back to relative normal. Layla is dragged from the castle to spend some time shopping with Lance during some diplomatic talks. She picks up a late anniversary gift for Keith and gets a happy surprise back at the castle.

Over the next 6 months, things slowly get back to normal. Layla is back to training with the rest of the team and Keith is back to taking missions from the Blade. Keith did have some conditions for Kolivan before returning. He wasn’t going to take any missions that take him away from the castle for more than a week or ones that involved no communication with the castle. Keith is a valued member of the team and brought Krolia back so Kolivan agrees. 

 

“Come on Layla.” Allura urges, “Keith isn’t due back for a couple more days. It will do you some good to get out of the castle.” Allura tries to convince Layla to come along on a diplomatic mission. “You don’t even need to do anything, just wander the city and have fun.”

 

“I haven’t been out of the castle for a while.” Layla reasons, “I suppose it will do me some good.” 

 

“Wonderful!” Allura cries, clapping her hands. “We leave in 30 minutes and we’re taking the Black Lion. We’ll be back for dinner.” She skips off, leaving Layla wonder what’s going on.

 

Layla meets everyone at Black’s hangar 30 minutes later. Everyone seems oddly relieved that Layla is coming along. She figures it’s because she’s been cooped up for so long.

 

It turns out that not all the Paladins are needed for the talks, so Layla and Lance take an afternoon to wander the city and look at the shops available. Lance spends his time pulling Layla into beauty stores to find the latest and greatest products to try. After a couple hours of shopping, Layla suddenly grabs Lance by the arm and drags him into a store. She’s so quick that Lance doesn’t get the chance to see what store it is until he’s inside. 

 

“Really Layla? A knife store?” Lance complains when he realizes where he is. “I thought only Keith dragged me into places like this.”

 

“Our anniversary was about a month ago and we couldn’t celebrate because Keith was on a mission.” She explains. “The past year has been rough and I want to get him something really special.”

 

Layla continues browsing around the store looking for just the right gift. She sees lots of knives that Keith would like, but nothing that jumps out at her. The clerk at the counter starts asking her questions to determine what kind of knife she’s looking for. 

 

“I’m looking for an anniversary gift for my boyfriend. I’d like something meaningful but also functional as well.” She explains.

 

“Let me gather a few knives and we can see what you think.” The clerk answers. He spends a few minutes pulling a few knives off the shelves and setting them on the counter. He goes over each of them with her and explains their meanings. The common theme to them all seems to be love and devotion. While Layla loves the meanings, none of the knives seem to be the one.

 

“I’m sorry,” she apologizes, “these are all beautiful, but none of them seem to jump out at me. It’s been a really rough year for us and I’m looking for just the right knife. Thank you for all your help though, I appreciate it.” She turns to leave the store.

 

“Wait! I have one more knife to show you and I think it might be exactly what you’re looking for.” The clerk calls after her. “Wait here a moment.” He heads out back and comes out a few minutes later with a beautiful wooden box. He sets it on the counter and opens it up towards Layla. The knife lays on a velvet like cushion in the box. It has a straight blade that is about 8 inches long. Depending on how the light hits it, there looks to be a slight red glow about it. The hilt is black with red detailing. “The knife doesn’t necessarily mean love,” the clerk explains, “but it represents the struggles and hardships that bring 2 people together.”

 

Layla can’t believe how perfect this knife is. “It’s perfect. I’ll take it.”

 

They leave the store with Layla clutching the box to her chest so it doesn’t get dropped or damaged. They make it back to where the talks are happening with minutes left to spare before they’re over. While on the on the way back, she shows the knife to the rest of the team when they ask what’s in the box. They can’t believe how beautiful it is. 

 

When they get back to the castle, Layla rushes to her room to put the knife away before dinner. She opens the door to the bedroom and sees Keith laying on the bed waiting for her in his Blade uniform. She quickly sets the box down on the desk and jumps onto the bed and straddles Keith before he has a chance to get up. He manages to be able to sit up as Layla quickly presses her lips to his and kisses him passionately. 

 

“Is everything ok? You weren’t scheduled to be back for a couple more days.” She asks between kisses.

 

“The mission finished early so Kolivan let me come back early.” Keith responds. 

 

“Does anyone else know you’re here?” Layla asks while eyeing Keith in his Blade uniform and slowly reaching for the zipper.

 

“They do. Why do you think they tried so hard to get you out of the castle?” Keith smiles slyly. “By the way, what did you pick up while you were on the planet?” He motions towards the wooden box on the desk. 

 

“It was supposed to be a surprise. Since you were on a mission for our anniversary, I wanted to get you something special.” Layla reluctantly gets off of Keith and brings him the box. 

 

Keith opens it up and judging by the look on his face, Layla chose the right knife. She tells Keith that the knife represents the struggles and hardships that bring 2 people together. It’s something she felt sums up the last year. Keith puts the knife away in the box and pulls Layla to him on the bed. 

 

“It’s perfect. You’re perfect.” He says kissing her deeply. “I have a surprise for you too, but it’s in the lounge.”

 

Layla tugs on the collar of Keith’s uniform. “Can’t it wait a bit? You know how much I love you in this uniform. And how much I love taking you out of it.”

 

“No it can’t. I promise I’ll let you get me out of this later.” Keith stands up before Layla can start fiddling with the zipper on his suit again. “Come on, it will be worth it.”

 

“More worth it than seeing you naked?” Layla mumbles to herself as Keith pulls her out of the room. 

 

Layla pouts all the way to the lounge and Keith assures her that this is worth it. “Trust me.” Keith tells her before leading her into the lounge. The room is full of people when they get there. Layla sees the rest of the team, Krolia, Kolivan and some Blade members. Confused, she looks to Keith to ask what’s going on. When she turns, she has to look down to see Keith. It takes her a moment to notice that he’s getting down on one knee. 

 

Keith reaches into his jacket for a small box and opens it up to reveal a silver ring with a solitary red gem. “Layla, you mean everything to me and I can’t imagine life without you. Will you marry me?” Not being able to form words, Layla nods as she starts to cry. Keith slips the ring on her finger before he stands up. He’s barely upright when Layla pulls him to her and kisses him, not caring who is in the room watching. They’re so wrapped up in each other for a couple minutes that they don’t notice the room full of people cheering for them. As they walk further into the room, people start walking over to them to congratulate them. Krolia and Lance are the first to run to hug and congratulate them. 

 

“I have a small confession to make.” Keith tells Layla. “There was no mission. It was all just a way to get us both out of the castle so that I could plan this. Everyone was in on it, except for Lance. We knew he’d tell you right away even if it was an accident.”

 

Layla looks towards Allura. “Was the diplomatic mission made up too?”

 

Allura blushes as she nods. “It was. We needed to get you out of the castle for the day somehow.”

 

Layla is floored that it was all a plan orchestrated by Keith. She hangs off of Keith’s arm as people congratulate them. The start of the night goes by in a haze of happiness, Layla can’t believe she’s engaged to her best friend and the love of her life. She snaps out of her haze when she sees Keith looking concerned and asking if she’s ok. “I couldn’t be better. I’m engaged to my best friend and love of my life.” She reaches out and caresses Keith’s cheek. They share a light kiss before mingling with the crowd.

 

About halfway through the night, Lance and Hunk approach Layla arguing. “Layla, we need you to settle something.” Lance insists. “Hunk thinks that finding a planet with a beach for the wedding is too much. But I was thinking…”

 

“It is too much! The food I’m planning to make wouldn’t keep in direct sunlight.” Hunk interrupts.

 

“Woah woah woah.” Layla holds her hands up. “Stop right there. No planning my wedding without me. Once Keith and I figure out what we want, you two will be the first I go to for help. But until then, just enjoy the party.” Both men seem a little disappointed that their issue wasn’t resolved, but go to enjoy the party anyways. 

 

**************************************************

 

Over the next few months, the wedding starts coming together. Two weeks before the wedding Layla and Lance are sitting in the lounge going over a list of what’s been done and what still needs to be done. 

 

“Guest list is done and invitations are sent.” Lance says out loud while he’s skimming the list in front of him. 

 

‘Yup. Everyone living in the castle obviously, Krolia, Kolivan and a few members of the Blade that Keith wants there. Matt and a few members of the rebel group are coming and Hunk is bringing Shay.” Layla confirms. “I believe Allura invited some members of the coalition as well.”

 

“Perfect. Do we have all the details for the ceremony worked out? I know you needed to talk to Krolia and Kolivan about and Galra traditions.”

 

Layla looks down at her copy of the list. “I think so. We talked to Krolia and Kolivan and Galra weddings aren’t very common. The ceremony is basically a blood pact. Keith and I would cut our palms and hold hands during our vows. I’ve already cleared it with Coran and he’s run some tests, and it’s safe for Keith and I to do this. They wouldn’t get into details with me, but they mentioned that are some other traditions when people become mates. So there are going to be more Earth traditions.” She gives a quick rundown for Lance that Coran is going to officiate the ceremony, Shiro and Lance will stand next to Keith and Layla respectively.

 

“And Hunk is going to take care of the cooking and Coran is bringing the nunvill. Lastly, we know Keith is wearing his Blade uniform at your request.” Lance winks at Layla. “And you’ve already picked up your dress with Allura right?”

 

“That’s right. I’m keeping the dress in Allura’s room because I want it to be a surprise to everyone. Everything seems to be done as far as I know. The next couple weeks can be spent relaxing and hoping nothing goes wrong.” Layla and Lance high five at their planning skills. It’s hard to believe that in between fighting the Galra and peace missions that they’ve planned the whole wedding in the matter of months. It does help when everything is taking place at the castle and the others are more than happy to help her where they can. 

 

**************************************************

 

A week before the wedding Keith and Layla are going over wedding stuff. 

 

“I got more details on when two Galra become mates.” Keith tells her. “I’m not sure about it though. I don’t think I can do it.”

 

“What do you mean? It can’t be that bad can it?” Layla asks. 

 

“Galra males mark their mates during sex….by biting down on where the shoulder meets their neck. Hard enough to draw blood and leave a scar.” Keith says. “Galra have something in their saliva that acts as a painkiller to numb the pain. I’m only half Galra, I don’t know if that even applies to me.” Keith looks down at his hands as he finishes explaining. 

 

Layla takes his hand and leans over so she can see Keith’s face. “I know how important your Galra heritage is to you. I trust you and I love you.”

 

“I don’t want to hurt you or be responsible for scarring you.” Keith grips Layla’s hands tightly. “I’m not sure if my teeth are sharp enough to make it quick. I may have grown sharper fangs, but they’re not as sharp as a full blooded Galra’s.”

 

Layla brings a hand to his face and looks into his eyes. “Keith, there is no one that I trust more than you. I’m more than willing to go through some pain if it means I get to wear a mark showing the universe that I’m your mate.”

 

“But…” Keith starts to argue.

 

“No buts. I’m comfortable with this. I’ll wear your mark proudly as long as I live.” Layla says. “Just think about it. If you’re comfortable with it, mark me on our wedding night.” She kisses him before he can argue with her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding is planned and the day is here. Keith still hasn’t given Layla an answer about Galra mating marks and if he wants to go through with it.

The night before the wedding, Layla spends the night in Allura’s room to have the tradition of the groom not seeing the bride before the wedding. Lance joins them for a night of pampering and face masks. 

 

The next morning, Lance runs to get the three of them breakfast so that they can all eat before starting to get ready. The wedding is taking place early afternoon, so every minute counts. As soon as they’re done eating, Allura and Lance start on Layla’s hair and makeup. Once it’s time for lunch, all three of them have their hair and makeup done and only need to get dressed. Before Lance can run out to get them lunch, they hear a knock at the door. Lance opens the door a crack to make sure whoever it is can’t sneak a peek into the room. 

 

“Coran! What do we owe the pleasure of your company?” Lance says, opening the door so Coran can walk in.

 

“Just bringing you all a quick bite to eat. Can’t have any stomachs growling during the ceremony.” Coran sets 3 plates of food down on the desk. “I still have things to get done so I’ll leave you all to finish getting ready. See you all in a couple hours!” Coran waves as he leaves the room.

 

“Guess that means it’s break time. Let’s have a quick bite then we can get dressed and touch up makeup and hair.” Layla announces as she hands out the plates. 

 

Lance is the first to finish eating and gets dressed in the bathroom first. Layla hadn’t seen what the Paladins got for suits when they went to the space mall and notices that Lance is in a black suit with blue accents to match his Paladin armor. “Wow” Layla says as he leaves the bathroom. “I’m not sure if I’m going to be the best dressed at my own wedding. That suit is gorgeous.”

 

Lance stands up straighter and smooths out his jacket. “Well you know I can make anything look good.” He says smirking. “I still haven’t seen your dress. You’ve kept it under lock and key since you bought it.” 

 

“I have. And I think it’s about time that it sees the light of day.” Layla says, finishing off her plate and standing up. She walks over to Allura’s closet and digs towards the back and pulls out a black dress bag. Not wanting to show off the dress until she’s wearing it, she takes it to the bathroom to get changed. About 15 minutes pass before Layla comes out of the bathroom wearing a black dress with purple accents to match Keith’s Blade of Mamora uniform. Without shoes, the dress skims the floor and is made from a slinky material that hangs perfectly from Layla’s form. There’s a slit on one side that reaches halfway up her thigh that shows off her legs and allows for better movement.

 

“Oh. My. God.” Lance is speechless when he sees Layla. 

 

“It looks better on you now than it did in the store.” Allura squeals. She hands Layla a small bag, “Here’s the accessories that we picked up. I’m going to get dressed while you finish up.” She grabs a more formal dress from her closet and walks to the bathroom.

 

Lance starts hovering around Layla to see what kind of accessories they bought. Layla first pulls out a necklace, it’s a simple silver chain with a red gem that matches her engagement ring. The next thing Layla takes out of the bag is a small, ornate dagger. 

 

“I was expecting earrings, but a dagger?” Lance questions. 

 

“It goes with this.” Layla tells him as she pulls a black garter out of the bag. She proceeds to slide the garter on her leg and tuck the dagger into it. It’s barely visible even with the slit in the dress. “And I’ll need it for the blood pact part of the ceremony. Do I look ok?”

 

“Ok? You look stunning. People won’t be able to take their eyes off you.” He brushes a strand of hair out of her face. “Keith is a lucky guy. He better treat you right or else he’ll have to deal with me.”

 

“Thanks Lance. Having you here for me today means so much to me.” Layla hugs Lance, risking wrinkling both their outfits. 

 

Allura comes out of the bathroom dressed and sees the end of Lance and Layla’s heartfelt moment. “No tears you two! We don’t have enough time to re-do makeup.”

 

Lance looks at the time. “You’re right, we have just enough time for touch ups and shoes before we have to get out of here.”

 

All three of them sit down to touch up both makeup and hair and to get their shoes on. The comm buzzes while they’re putting their shoes on and Allura answers. “It’s Pidge, I need you guys here ASAP. Keith, Shiro and Coran are just about to go to their places.”

 

“I wasn’t paying attention when I bought these shoes. I hope I’m not taller than Keith in them.” Layla mutters. 

 

“No time to worry about that now. We have to go.” Allura pulls Layla out of the room and they head to the banquet room where the ceremony is being held. 

 

When they get to the banquet room, the doors are closed and Pidge is waiting outside the door. “Perfect timing! You have a few minutes to spare before you make your grand entrance.” Pidge tells Layla. “You two can head in now.” She says, turning to Allura and Lance. “Coran, Keith and Shiro just got to their places, they’re just missing Lance.” 

 

Allura and Lance give Layla one last hug before heading into the banquet room. Pidge peeks into the room to make sure everyone is in their place. “You ready?” She asks, turning to Layla. 

 

“As I’ll ever be.” Layla responds, taking a deep breath. “Thanks for everything Pidge.” 

 

“Thank me later, just concentrate on being happy.” Pidge hugs her quickly before queueing up the music to signal the start of the ceremony. Once she sees everyone in the room is paying attention, she opens both doors so Layla can enter the room. Taking a deep breath, Layla stands at the door and enters the room. Walking towards the front of the room at a comfortable pace. She suddenly feels self conscious as everyone turns to look at her. Looking to the front of the room she sees Keith, Lance, Shiro and Coran waiting for her. Lance and Shiro are smiling at her proudly like any brother or space dad would do. She sees Keith’s nervousness seem to melt away the closer she gets.  _ “I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen him smile like this.” _ Layla thinks to herself.  _ “Quiznak. He looks so good in that suit. What I wouldn’t give to get him out of that suit.” _ When she gets to Keith, they hold hands and face each other as Coran starts the ceremony. When the vow portion begins, Keith removes his BoM blade from his belt and Layla lifts her dress enough to remove the dagger from her garter. They both cut one palm and let the blood pool for a moment before joining hands, holding the blades at their sides. They continue with the ceremony like this and after their first kiss, Lance and Shiro quickly clean and bandage their hands. 

 

Pidge announces that everyone can stay in here and chat while her and Hunk take some time to make sure everything is set up in the lounge for the reception. Shiro tells Keith and Layla that they have one of the nearby meeting rooms set up for them to relax in alone while they wait. He leads them out of the room and down the hall and tells them he’ll come get them when everything is ready. He figures it should be 20-30 minutes.

 

The moment the door shuts, Keith pushes Layla against the nearest wall and covers her mouth with his. Their kiss is filled with passion and urgency as they both wanted this throughout the ceremony. “You have no idea how hard it was to keep my hands off of you.” Keith whispers between kisses. 

 

“Oh I think I have an idea.” Layla responds, pulling herself in closer and pressing her thigh between Keith’s legs. 

 

“We should stop.” Keith says between kisses. “We won’t be able to control ourselves and we can’t risk you getting pregnant again.”

 

Layla pulls away suddenly, “Well at least one of us is prepared.” She lifts her dress to reach into her garter and pulls out a condom. She holds it triumphantly in Keith’s face. 

 

“You sneaky minx.” Keith grins mischievously as he picks Layla up and sets her down on the table. 

 

After the lounge is set up and all the guests have made their way in, Shiro heads to the meeting room where he left Layla and Keith. He knocks and opens the door before he can get a response. He’s greeted by Keith zipping up his BoM uniform and Layla straightening her dress. 

 

“Really? It’s been maybe 30 minutes.” Shiro pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head.

 

“You didn’t lock the door?” Layla asks Keith.

 

“No, I thought you did!” Keith says.

 

“Let’s just go to the lounge.” Shiro sighs.

 

When they get to the lounge everyone starts cheering. People are yelling congratulations and raising their drinks. Keith and Layla make their rounds through the room thanking people. One of the other BoM members is congratulating them when he asks about children. Keith can feel Layla stiffen at the question. Before Keith can come up with an answer, Layla responds that they are waiting until after the war is over to think about children. If they decide to grow their family, they will look into adopting. There’s going to be many children orphaned by the war that will need families. Keith can’t believe how quickly she recovered to answer the question. Thankfully no one else asks them about children. 

 

Layla is talking with Pidge and thanking her for everything she did to make sure the wedding went off without a hitch when Krolia asks to speak to Layla. Pidge excuses herself so they can talk. 

 

“So Keith told me that you both spoke about Galra mating marks? I wanted to speak to you about it too to make sure you knew the details.” Krolia tells her. 

 

Layla nods, “He did. He’s unsure about if he wants to do it, he’s scared that he’ll hurt me. He mentioned that Galra have some sort of pain killer in their saliva to help counteract the pain but he doesn’t know if he does.”

 

“Have you both made a decision? This is a big one.” 

 

“I’m ok with whatever decision he makes about the mating mark. I’ve already told him that I’ll wear the mark proudly so that everyone knows I’m his mate. But I don’t want to push him into something he doesn’t want to do.” Layla tells Krolia. 

 

“That is the answer that I was hoping to hear.” Krolia smiles. “Kolivan is going to be the one to tell Keith this, hearing it from me would be embarrassing for him, but if the bite is done at the height of pleasure it will also help to distract from the pain.”

 

“Thanks for the advice and the talk Krolia. It means a lot to Keith and I to have you back in his life.” 

 

“It means a lot to me to see the support he has here at the castle and to know that he loves someone as much as I loved his father.” Krolia and Layla hug each other tightly as Keith and Kolivan approach them with drinks in their hands. 

 

“There you are. I was wondering where you disappeared to.” Keith hands Layla a glass and wraps his now empty hand around her waist and kisses her cheek.

 

Kolivan hands a drink to Krolia and they both smile as they watch Keith and Layla interact. “They’re just as in love as Keith’s father and I were.” Krolia whispers to Kolivan. “I don’t think we need to worry about them.”

 

“I’ve never heard Keith so passionate about anything as he is about her.” Kolivan responds. They turn back to Keith and Trianna to see them so caught up in themselves that it’s like no one else is in the room. Kolivan and Krolia take the opportunity to sneak away and leave the young couple to themselves.

 

As the night winds down, people start to retire to their rooms. Once most of the guests have left, Keith and Layla decide to head back to their room. As they have been most of the night, they’re all over each other on the way. When they open the door to their room, they’re surprised to see that someone has been in it. There’s the space equivalent of rose petals covering the bed and part of the floor and a bottle of nunvill in an ice bucket with a couple of glasses next to it. They both accuse each other of planning this and both of them deny any involvement. 

 

Keith walks over to the desk and picks up a small card next to the nunvill. “Well this explains it.” He holds up the card. “This is all Lance and my mom’s doing.”

 

“We can’t let that bottle of nunvill go to waste either.” Layla grabs the glasses and sets them upright to prepare to pour some drinks. Keith opens the bottle and starts filling both glasses. “I um...have a question for you.”

 

“Oh?” Keith sets down the bottle and turns his attention to Layla. “Is everything alright?” 

 

“Everything is fine. I just wanted to ask if you had made a decision. About the mating mark.” Layla’s voice lowers as if she’s unsure she should be bringing this up.

 

“I did.” Keith pulls her in close to him. She can feel his breath on her face. “If you’re still ok with it, I’d like to mark you. I can’t guarantee that it won’t hurt though.” 

 

“I know. I understand that you’re not trying to hurt me.” Layla nuzzles his neck affectionately as she start playing with his hair. “Krolia did give me a bit of advice on timing the bite to try to avoid it hurting too much.”

 

“I got the same advice from Kolivan. Now how about we put that advice to good use?” Keith starts to pull the straps of Layla’s dress off her shoulders.

 

“I thought you’d never ask.” 


End file.
